FEBRUARY 2013
A TORTURING WORLD – More than 50 countries helped the CIA
outsource torture.
Map here, along with explanation why South
America is not part of the gulag noted above: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34013.htm
Turkey –
Suicide bomber attacks US
embassy, kills self and a guard. [Blowback for putting Patriot missiles in Turkey.
February 1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21293598
Libya –
Christians being driven out of Libya.
[They have been driven out of Iraq
and Syria
also, because of US-led violence.] http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Christians-being-driven-out-of-Libya-20130201
Libya –
Two years after violent revolt, Libya
faces a host of problems – control of it’s borders, smuggling of weapons, and
managing regional militias that refuse to disarm.
Egypt
– More than 50 people have been killed and hundreds more injured in a week of
violent protests against the government of President Mohamed Morsi. Law and
order have broken down in the Suez Canal town of Port Said,
and armed gangs have looted an international hotel chain in the heart of Cairo. [Title is “Can the
Egyptian army keep the peace?” Time will tell. February 2] http://www.salon.com/2013/02/01/can_the_egyptian_army_keep_the_peace_partner/
Mali – Timbuktu celebrates as France President visits. Thousands
of Timbuktu
residents gathered in the main square, used until recently by the zealots for
public whippings and amputations, to cheer Hollande, who plunged into the
crowd, beaming and clasping Malians' hands as part of a lightning-like visit.
[February 2] http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mali-france-hollande-20130203,0,2729507.story
Mali – France bombs Mali’s north. [February 3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21314779
Mali – As
France drove Islamic
militants from cities and towns in northern Mali in recent weeks, corpses of
noncombatants also started turning up, many of them Tuareg and Fulani herders,
traditionally nomadic people who have roamed the region for centuries,
oblivious of borders. Some have been killed by soldiers for having no
identification papers.
…. In recent days, Human Rights Watch has reported numerous
ethnic reprisal killings by the army, with the danger likely to rise sharply
once France withdraws its troops — possibly as early as March — and leaves the
Malian military in charge.
Mali –
French soldier killed in Mali
along with 20 Islamist rebels. [February 19] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/19/french-soldier-killed-mali
Mali – US
Air Force crews deliver troops to Mali. US also provides financial
and “intelligence” assistance. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/02/19/183567/us-air-force-crews-deliver-supplies.html
Mali –
Thirteen Chadian and 65 Islamist rebel fighters have been killed in fighting in
northern Mali.
[February 22] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21555898
Mali –
Car bomb killed seven at checkpoint in northern Mali town. Checkpoint staffed by
group in support of France’s
military intervention. [February 26] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21595018
Africa – Heavily armed Mali
rebels spreading across Africa. "We are
now in the last phase of the operation," Hollande said. [Like hell you
are.] http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/article8419174.ece
Cameroon
– Militants kidnap French family. [Retaliation. February 19] http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/19/us-cameroon-kidnapping-idUSBRE91I0MA20130219
Niger – US troops arrive in Niger and set up drone base. [They
are ‘supporting’ the French fighting in Mali. February 22] http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-troops-arrive-in-niger-to-set-up-drone-base/2013/02/22/2a3348c0-7d01-11e2-9e84-3fbb5d2ef2a9_story.html
Syria
– Refugees living in appalling conditions. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21297013
Syria
– Refugees flee to Jordon under great hardship and terror. [February 3] http://www.channel4.com/news/syrian-refugees-tonight-we-died-many-deaths
Syria
– At least 19 Syrian security forces killed in two car bombings targeting
intelligence headquarters. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/02/20132695511608916.html
Syria
– Rebels are forging child soldiers into ‘killing machines’. http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/syrian-rebels-are-forging-child-soldiers-into-killing-machines
Syria
– Aleppo Bishop speaks out against Christian kidnappings. http://is.gd/V11Qum
Syria
– A bombing at a bus stop near a military factory killed 54 civilian workers.
[February 6, 2012] http://gulftoday.ae/portal/63cf0c84-fb62-4d88-8da4-04c7c0ccbc2a.aspx
Syria
– Minibus explosion on Syria-Turkey border, killing at least 13. [February 11] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21409661
Syria –
Rebels control Syria’s
largest dam, controlling water and electricity supplies to wide areas.
[February 11] http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/rebels-seize-syrias-largest-dam-taking-control-of-water-and-electricity-to-parts-of-country/2013/02/11/d0a659e8-7461-11e2-9889-60bfcbb02149_story.html
Syria –
Six Jordanian nationals killed fighting in Syria. [There are reports of
Americans, Moroccans, Libyans, Egyptians, Bosnians, and others fighting
alongside the rebel forces.]
Syria
– Civilians plight is ‘catastrophic’ said the International Committee of the
Red Cross. http://is.gd/zAyqtv
Syria –
Rocket kills at least 31 people in Aleppo.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21508468
Syria
– In ruins. A story of horror and death and destruction. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/19/syria-civilians-military-stalemate
Syria
– Pro-Assad militia now key to Syrian government’s war strategy. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/02/19/183574/pro-assad-militia-now-key-to-syrian.html
Syria – A
massive car bomb in Damascus
kills at least 53 and injures another 200. [Other reports put the death toll at
about 100 dead. This was near the headquarters of the Baath Party, so we can
pin this on the rebels. And both Saudi Arabia and Qater are pressing
for more aid to these terrorists.] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21529634
Syria
– Heavy weaponry being sent to the rebels in the south. “The idea was to get
heavier stuff, intensify supply and make sure it goes to the good guys,” said
an Arab official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the operation. “If you want to weaken al-Nusra, you do it not by
withholding [weapons] but by boosting the other groups.” [And what could
possibly go wrong?] http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-syria-new-influx-of-weapons-to-rebels-tilts-the-battle-against-assad/2013/02/23/a6bf2bc0-7dfb-11e2-9073-e9dda4ac6a66_story.html
Syria –
Unlawful missile attacks kill more than 140 in Aleppo, per Human Rights Watch. http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/26/syria-unlawful-missile-attacks-kill-more-140
Iraq – At
least 16 people have been killed as suicide bombers and gunmen attacked a
police HQ in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk,
medical sources say. [Other reports say over 33 were killed. February 3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21311931
Iraq –
Suicide bomber kills 22 and injures 44 north of Baghdad. They were members of Sahwa, who are
fighting al Qaeda in Iraq.
[February 4] http://dawn.com/2013/02/04/suicide-blast-near-baghdad-kills-22-injures-44/
Iraq - Attacks north of Baghdad, including a third suicide
blast in as many days, killed at least eight people, officials said, amid a
spike in violence that has left almost 70 people dead in all. [February 6] http://gulftoday.ae/portal/4484bc63-227e-499a-a85d-760917664ace.aspx
Iraq
– Car bomb attacks in Iraq Shi’ite cities kill at least 34. [February 8]
Iraq
– Spate of attacks in northern Iraqi province prompts authorities to warn
return of Al Qaeda. http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2013/02/201325174955528131.html
Iraq – A
series of attacks killed eleven more people in Iraq. [February 12]
Iraq
– Serial bombings kill 37 and wound over 100. [February 17] http://gulftoday.ae/portal/c7929413-70ad-4769-a50b-04c13cb336ab.aspx
Iraq – A decade on from the US-led invasion of Iraq, the
destruction caused by foreign occupation and the subsequent regime has had a
massive impact on Iraqis' daily life – the most disturbing example of which is
violence against women. At the same time, the sectarian regime's policy on
religious garb is forcing women to retire their hard-earned rights across the
spectrum: employment, freedom of movement, civil marriage, welfare benefits,
and the right to education and health services. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/25/iraqi-women-american-promise-democracy
Iraq –
Leaflets warn Baghdad
resident to leave, stirring fearful memories. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/leaflets-warn-baghdad-residents-to-leave-stirring-fearful-memories-as-sectarian-tensions-rise/2013/02/25/cce1c2dc-7f17-11e2-a671-0307392de8de_story.html
USA – Obama administration lawyers have asserted that it
would be lawful to kill a United States citizen if "an informed,
high-level official" of the government decided that the target was a
ranking figure in Al Qaeda who posed "an imminent threat of violent attack
against the United States" and if his capture was not feasible, according
to a 16-page document. [It is a provable fact that they killed people with
drones that they could have easily captured. February 5]
USA
– White House directed the Justice Department to release to the two
Congressional Intelligence Committees classified documents discussing the legal
justification for killing, by drone strikes and other means, American citizens
abroad who are considered terrorists. [Released on February 7] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/us/politics/obama-orders-release-of-drone-memos-to-lawmakers.html
USA
– UN report says US is violating human rights of children. http://www.aclu.org/blog/human-rights/us-violating-human-rights-children-says-un-committee
USA
– Major US newspapers admit to honoring CIA demands. http://rt.com/usa/news/us-cia-drone-saudi-669/
USA
– Human Rights Watch claims hundreds of Afghan children killed by US drones.
[US denies it.] http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/05/us-act-protect-children-conflict
USA –
Announces new Iran
sanctions. The United States blacklisted Iran’s state broadcasting authority,
Internet-policing agencies and a major electronics producer on Wednesday, an
action that widened the American sanctions effort to pressure the Iranian
government over not only its disputed nuclear program but also over the
stifling of domestic dissent and access to information. [I seem to recall a
stifling of the Occupy movement, otherwise known as domestic dissent, here in
the USA.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/world/middleeast/united-states-announces-new-iran-sanctions.html?ref=middleeast&_r=1&
USA
– At least 20 CIA prisoners still are missing. http://www.propublica.org/article/at-least-20-cia-prisoners-still-missing
USA –
U.S. Border Patrol agents in western New
York have been rewarded with cash bonuses and Home
Depot gift cards, an incentive program that has grown at the same time as has
an overly aggressive enforcement culture, a new study states. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20130214/NEWS01/302140049/Border-Patrol-in-our-area-aggressive-study-says
USA
– Nine arrested at Hancock Air Base for opposing drone war crimes. http://vcnv.org/nine-arrested-at-hancock-air-base-for-opposing-reaper-drone-war-crimes
USA
– Senator Graham states that 4,700 people killed by US drones. He does not say
how many were “bad guys” and how many were innocent victims. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/02/graham-drones/
USA – Six
leaking tanks at Hanford
reservation raise serious concerns about urgency of nuclear cleanup. [Nuclear
power will end up killing a lot of people.] http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/states+governor+says+underground+tanks+Hanford+nuclear/8004417/story.html
Pakistan
– Militants attacked an isolated army checkpoint in Pakistan's restive northwest today,
with at least 35 people killed in the initial assault, subsequent crossfire and
a rocket attack on a house. The Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility, saying
the attack was in response to a US
drone strike in neighbouring North Waziristan
last month in which two commanders were killed. [February 2] http://is.gd/5bfuKR
Pakistan
– At least five persons were killed when a US
drone targeted a house in North Waziristan.
Sources said that the house was set on fire, as six missiles were fired from
the drone. [February 6] http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-86946-US-drone-strikes-kill-five-in-North-Waziristan---
Pakistan
– Three killed by US drone. [February 7] http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/07/world/asia/pakistan-violence/index.html
Pakistan
– US
drones kill nine in northwestern tribal belt on February 8. http://www.france24.com/en/20130208-us-drones-kill-nine-pakistan-officials
Pakistan
– A bomb attack on a crowded grocery market in a Shia-dominated neighborhood
has left at least 84 people dead and many more wounded. About 30 of them were
Afghan refugees. [February 16] http://www.khaama.com/30-afghan-refugees-among-84-killed-2205
Italy –
Italian court convicts over two dozen Americans (CIA) in the 2003 abduction in Milan of an Egyptian
cleric. www.nydailynews.com/news/national/american-sniper-author-chris-kyle-fatally-shot-article-1.1254181
Saudi Arabia
– Hosts secret US
drone base. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/brennan-nomination-opens-obama-to-criticism-on-secret-targeted-killings/2013/02/05/8f3c94f0-6fb0-11e2-8b8d-e0b59a1b8e2a_story.html
Tunisia
– Opposition leader was assassinated, leading to violence and a labor union
strike. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21377564
Afghanistan
– Five killed in restaurant bombing kills 5 in northern Afghanistan. [February 5] http://is.gd/LzbJbJ
Afghanistan
– Two women killed and three children injured following a military operation by
US Special Forces in Heart province. [February 5] http://is.gd/XqM7bX
Afghanistan
– Afghan civilians, a woman and three children, were found dead following
fighting between coalition forces and insurgents in Herat province. [February 6]
Afghanistan
– A UN committee has expressed "alarm" over reports that hundreds of
children have been killed by US military forces in Afghanistan in the past five years.
[Afghan government confirms the killings.] http://is.gd/BW1XSx
Afghanistan
– A NATO bombing in eastern Afghanistan
killed ten civilians, including five women and four children. It also killed
three Taliban commanders. [February 12] http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/13/world/asia/afghanistan-air-strike/index.html
Afghanistan
– UN report shows fewer killings of Afghan civilians for the first time in six
years. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/world/asia/un-reports-decline-in-killings-of-afghan-civilians.html
Afghanistan
– US
Special Forces ordered out of Wardak province, due to allegations of
disappearances and torture by Afghans that are part of those forces. Decision
made by Afghan Security Council. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21566295
More on this, including murder charges: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/24/world/asia/afghanistan-us-special-forces/
Afghanistan
– And over in Helmand province, Afghan forces
are “just like criminals” including charges of sexual abuse of boys, murder,
police high on drugs and kidnapping and extortion. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/afghan-forces-are-just-like-criminals-8508260.html
Yemen
– Government forces kill 21 suspected al Qaeda militants on February 3. http://is.gd/euI7SE
Yemen –
Six killed and two held captive in northern Yemen sectarian clashes. [February
5] http://www.yobserver.com/front-page/10022409.html
Philippines
– Twenty two killed in clash of Filipino extremists and rebels. A Muslim rebel
group said it attacked Abu Sayyaf gunmen after the al-Qaida-linked militants
refused to free hostages. http://is.gd/TxeIzX
Palestine – Israel destroys West Bank
protest camp. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/02/20132915611391106.html
Palestine
– Hamas and Fatah are talking about reconciliation. US Congress seeks to stop
that. http://mondoweiss.net/2013/02/israel-arrests-lawmakers.html
Palestine
– Prisoner was tortured before dying in Israeli jail. [Israel’s claims about cause of
death appear bogus.] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/24/violence-west-bank-custody-death
Nigeria
– Nine women administering polio vaccines to children to two separate locations
were shot dead. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21381773
Bahrain
– A teenager was killed during protests. Anti-government demonstrators set up
road blocks and clashed with security forces, and Amnesty International has
called for the release of 22 Bahraini’s prisoners of conscience. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21450053
Bahrain
– Another one dies. [Notice how the Obama administration does not give a rat’s
ass about democracy in Bahrain.
February 22] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21547109
Iran – Iran urges destruction of all nuclear arms after
North Korea’s
third nuclear test.
Iran –
Four U.S. congressmen met an
Iranian dissident leader and urged President Obama to treat her group as an
alternative to Tehran's
government, four months after its removal from a list of terrorist
organizations. [This will not end well.] http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/17/us-iran-opposition-usa-idUSBRE91G0GC20130217
Burma
– Police used white phosphorous on mine protesters. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21455087
Mexico – Mexico said
Wednesday that it had records of more than 27,000 cases of “disappeared people”
that it would make public soon in an effort to clarify the circumstances under
which they vanished. Human Rights Watch issued a scathing report that called Mexico the Western
Hemisphere’s hot spot for “enforced disappearances,” in which
police or the military arrest citizens who are never seen again. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/02/20/183679/rights-group-lashes-mexico-over.html
DR Congo – Peace accord is signed. Regional African leaders
have signed a UN-brokered accord which aims to bring peace to the troubled
eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. As many as 800,000 people have
been displaced since the March 23 rebel group took up arms against the Kinshasa government last
May. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21563949
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