Rendition continues

We all, of course, know that rendition (kidnapping) continues under the Obama administration. He told us he would do so. But he also promised to be extra careful about the rendition prisoners and make sure that they were treated properly, and if sent to another country, get ‘diplomatic assurances’ that were would be no torture. He promised more oversight.

That last promise has not held up. No surprises there. More about that later.

But, even if it had, why does this Constitutional scholar think it is okay to kidnap people from around the world and take them into detention? This is a violation of the Geneva Convention, which means it is a violation of the US Constitution. Human rights groups, and all people of conscience, have condemned this decision by Obama to continue this odious and immoral practice that was started by Clinton and used extensively by Bush. It has been condemned as illegal by the European Parliament.

Under executive orders issued by Obama recently, the CIA still has authority to carry out what are known as renditions, secret abductions and transfers of prisoners to countries that cooperate with the United States.

US says rendition to continue, but with more oversight

In an article in Foreign Affairs in the summer of 2007, Mr. Obama wrote, “To build a better, freer world, we must first behave in ways that reflect the decency and aspirations of the American people.” Mr. Obama continued, “This means ending the practices of shipping away prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries, of detaining thousands without charge or trial, of maintaining a network of secret prisons to jail people beyond the reach of the law.”

That was what Obama said then, and this apparently does not apply in the year 2009.

Obama preserves renditions as counter-terrorism tool

But the Obama administration appears to have determined that the rendition program was one component of the Bush administration's war on terrorism that it could not afford to discard. The decision underscores the fact that the battle with Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups is far from over and that even if the United States is shutting down the prisons, it is not done taking prisoners.

"Obviously you need to preserve some tools -- you still have to go after the bad guys," said an Obama administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity when discussing the legal reasoning. "The legal advisors working on this looked at rendition. It is controversial in some circles and kicked up a big storm in Europe. But if done within certain parameters, it is an acceptable practice."

It is not acceptable to me.

As far as I know, there has been only one case of rendition by the Obama administration so far. (Of course, how would we know? It’s a secret!) Surprisingly, it was not a terror suspect at all, but rather a fraud suspect. And it is from this one case that we know the ‘promise of oversight’ is not being kept, because this man (who was never transferred to a foreign country or entity) was tortured. And if Obama cannot prevent torture to rendition subjects while in American hands, you can be sure he cannot prevent it in foreign hands. I will cover that story under a post called TORTURE CONTINUES. Here is the story of his rendition, or kidnapping:

Corruption charges lead to rendition

Azar was in Kabul on business. His company had signed contracts with the Pentagon worth $50 million (€34 million) for reconstruction work in Afghanistan. On April 8, Azar was placed onto a Gulfstream and flown to the US state of Virginia to face charges. He was accused of having bribed his US Army contact to secure military contracts for his company, and he was later found guilty of bribery.

It was a classic case of corruption, which is not the sort of crime for which a suspect is normally sent to a military prison. No one can explain to Azar why he was taken to Bagram, where the US military treated him like a terrorism suspect.

Here’s a bit more detail on his kidnapping (rendition).

Scott Horton said this:

Why such aggressive and dramatic techniques were used in connection with the apprehension of a man suspected of a small-scale white collar crime remains entirely unclear.

A Lebanese-American women was also seized at the same time, with little information on this rendition available.

According to court papers, on April 7, 2009, Azar and a Lebanese-American colleague, Dinorah Cobos, were seized by "at least eight" heavily armed FBI agents in Kabul, Afghanistan, where they had traveled for a meeting to discuss the status of one of his company's U.S. government contracts.

There is further information in this court document.

Of course, if you are going to have kidnapping, then you probably need to have ‘black sites’ to put your kidnapping victims into, even though this rendition that we know about did not involve a black site. I will have a post on SECRET PRIONS CONTINUE tomorrow and one on TORTURE CONTINES the day after.

A surge will only magnify the crime

From Wikipedia:

Malalai Joya (born April 25, 1978) is an Afghan politician who has been called "the bravest woman in Afghanistan."[2] As an elected member of the Wolesi Jirga from Farah province, she has publicly denounced the presence of what she considers warlords and war criminals in the parliament. In May 2007, Joya was suspended from the parliament on the grounds that she had insulted fellow representatives in a television interview.

She clearly calls it as she sees it - no matter who she is addressing. So what does this brave and honest Afghan women say about Obama's surge?

This is the crux of her opinion of the surge in Afghanistan at this time:

In doing so he will be making something worse than a mistake. It is a continuation of a war crime against the suffering people of my country.

I have said before that by installing warlords and drug traffickers in power in Kabul, the US and Nato have pushed us from the frying pan to the fire. Now Obama is pouring fuel on these flames, and this week's announcement of upwards of 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan will have tragic consequences.

As she goes to point out, more troops mean more deaths - specifically, more civilian deaths. Those deaths do not all occur while the troops are in the area. In fact, for years to come, there will be a surge in death, cancer, and birth defects for the civilians caught up in the middle of the violence.

And those deaths will not be only from the actions of the US/NATO troops - they will come from the warlords, drug traffickers, and Taliban too.

She points out that eight years of war in Afghanistan have NOT helped women, or ordinary people, at all:

After eight years of war, the situation is as bad as ever for ordinary Afghans, and women in particular. The reality is that only the drug traffickers and warlords have been helped under this corrupt and illegitimate Karzai government. Karzai's promises of reform are laughable. His own vice-president is the notorious warlord Fahim, whom Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch describes as "one of the most notorious warlords in the country, with the blood of many Afghans on his hands".

So please, all you fools out there who think we are there to help Afghan women gain some basic human rights...... give it up! It is a false claim.

And that is simply due to the fact that wars and occupations bring out the worst in everyone, and allow corruption to grow like out of control weeds.

And that is what has happened in both Afghanistan and Iraq.... corruption is rampant. Iraq's elections hold more legitimacy, but there is still vast corruption. Afghanistan's recent election shows world-class corruption.

And that is the basic reason why the Afghan people like Malalai Joya no longer want the "help" of the occupation forces.

Joya is asking for peace so that the Afghans can rebuild their country:

It will not be easy, but if we have a little bit of peace we will be better able to fight our own internal enemies – Afghans know what to do with our destiny. We are not a backward people, and we are capable of fighting for democracy, human and women's rights in Afghanistan. In fact the only way these values will be achieved is if we struggle for them and win them ourselves.

RAWA is making the same stand - they have been fighting for woman's rights in Afghanistan since 1985, and have paid with their lives for their efforts. They also want the occupation troops to leave and are opposed to the surge.

Karzai and the warlords want the occupation troops to stay.

One more statement from Malalai Joya:

Like many around the world, I am wondering what kind of "peace" prize can be awarded to a leader who continues the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and starts a new war in Pakistan, all while supporting Israel?

25th Anniversary of Bhopal disaster

Photo: Thousands of children whose parents were exposed to the leak have suffered birth defects [Reuters]

Twenty five years ago today, the city of Bhopal, India was hit by a deadly chemical leak from Union Carbide. I remember being appalled at the time – that they would let such a horrific thing happen. Hundreds died right away, and between 8,000 and 10,000 died in the next few days. Many thousands more have died horrible painful deaths since then.

According to this Al Jazeera news report, 25,000 later died from the effects. And another 500,000 were exposed and affected by the chemical release. And it has left a toxic legacy. Many have suffered from birth defects and many have suffered from chronic illnesses because of the chemical leak.

The clean up of the site has not been fully done, even to this day. Tons of toxic waste still contaminates the ground and the water.

Bhopal survivors demand action

The UK-based charity Bhopal Medical Appeal (BMA) said on Tuesday that there was evidence that "high levels of toxic chemicals" remained in the drinking water supply in 15 communities near the plant. Tests at Swiss and British laboratories indicated concentrations of some toxins were actually rising "as the chemicals leach through the soil and into the aquifer", it said.

….. A separate study also released on Tuesday by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), showed a hand-pump 3km from the former Union Carbide plant contained 110 times the maximum concentration of the pesticide carbaryl deemed safe in Indian bottled water.

At the time this happened, I was working in an ER in Cincinnati. I remember one of the young doctors there saying that these people injured or killed by this should not be reimbursed as well as Americans would, for the simple fact that they were not Americans. It seemed to me that she was saying that their lives were not worth as much. This upset me a great deal. I felt ever last victim should be taken care of for the rest of their lives. That never happened, and today the victims are protesting to get their medical needs met and the site cleaned up.

I don’t know how a doctor could be so insensitive to the plight of the victims. I hope she never had any kids.

The state government claims that the residual chemicals are harmless.

Union Carbide (now part of Dow Chemical) paid out a total of $470 million to the victims and never did clean the site up properly. The victims say that only part of this compensation reached the victims. And Dow Chemical today says it has no responsibility for this horrific disaster.

I hope these victims get a just compensation one day – the ones still alive, that is. I don’t know how Dow Chemical can just turn their back on these people.

Here is a link to some current pictures of the site today.

Another message from Afghan children

I am opposed to the escalation of the war on Afghanistan

Demonstrator and Iraq veteran Matthis Chiroux, center, is arrested for disorderly conduct at Thayer gate at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point N.Y. Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009, as President Barack Obama outlined plans to deploy more troops to Afghanistan in a speech at the academy.

(AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Stop the escalation

Sign the petition at this link.

My name is Baghdad

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

This video outlines their case against nuclear weapons.

Message from Afghan children

The Secret Government

Does the US Spend Too Much on Foreign Aid? - Peter Singer

There is just a huge amount of ignorance in this country. I read recently that 1/3 of students in Los Angeles High Schools droop out. But even for those who do graduate from High School, there is still a vast amount of ignorance, misinformation, and a lack of critical thinking skills. This video is one example of that.

The Hidden Cost of War

American Thanksgiving and Afghan Peacemakers

Universal soldier - support GI resistance

Hamas and Israel

Hamas Convinces Armed Factions To Halt Homemade Shelling

Hamas has gotten the right-wing fractions in Gaza to cease with the rocket launchings into Israel. This agreement is supposed to hold – unless Israel launches an invasion into Gaza. There are many factions in Gaza that are not under the control of Hamas, and they are often the ones doing the rocket launches.

Israel ignores this development

Hamas announced on Saturday it reached an agreement with other Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip to only fire rockets against Israeli targets in response to any future Israeli military incursion into the coastal enclave. Just hours after the Hamas statement, Israel responded to a rocket attack fired from Gaza earlier on Saturday. Israeli aircraft targeted what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said were two weapons-making facilities in northern and central Gaza and one smuggling tunnel under the border between Gaza and Egypt.

And so it goes…….

Another video from Our Journey to Smile

The love in Zekerullah’s journey to peace

This came in an email sent to me by "Our Journey to Smile".

Zekerullah, a 13 year Afghan youth peace volunteer who is taking part in the peace vigils at Bamiyan Peace Park, is learning to walk that 2^nd mile for love.

Love speaks the truth with gentleness, calling corruption corruption, not a budding democracy.

Love will not nurture greed in Afghan robes or international suits.

Love walks 2 hours in the mud to earn a decent penny though it is aware that, by economic design, money and power are not with those who walk.

Love deliberately asks ‘Does Zekerullah deserve a decent livelihood as much as I do?’

Love waits eagerly for peace and justice, even if, by ‘fateful neglect’, it is un-noticed and un-rewarded.

Love knows that killing in whatever name, even in the name of ‘Overseas Contingency Operations’, is killing. Killing removes life and love; we are not able to justify to Zekerullah that killing is a civil response for our ‘contingencies’.

Love recognizes that war is not peace, whatever its prize.

Love empathizes with soldiers and victims who suffer post-traumatic stress, knowing that it is an ORDER of human conscience that can guide Mankind to wholeness, pleading ‘Enough. Please stop!’

U.S. to Hunt Down Afghan Drug Lords

And after we hunt them down, they said the drug traffickers will be killed or captured.

Fifty Afghans believed to be drug traffickers with ties to the Taliban have been placed on a Pentagon target list to be captured or killed, reflecting a major shift in American counternarcotics strategy in Afghanistan, according to a Congressional study to be released this week.

No arrest. No trial. No judge. No jury. No evidence. Just the death penalty, instantly executed. Just US run assassination teams.

Now the Afghan warlords – who are heavy into the drug trafficking in Afghanistan – can just turn in the names of their enemies and get them taken care of by US forces. Hope they catch the CIA guys who are involved in drug trafficking also – but that is not likely since they are working closely with the warlords.

The US cannot stop drug trafficking anywhere in the world. This has been proven time and time again. The amount of drugs, and the crimes associated with them, just keep going up and up and up.

Article here.

Pentagon budget must rise to fund current plans

Well, I don’t get why we cannot just ‘borrow’ more money from China, like we did under the Bush administration. But it is without a doubt true that we will need more money to fund these idiotic wars that only create hell-on-earth for the people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan….. and will create more terrorism around the world. That includes the USA.

U.S. defense spending in coming years must rise roughly 6 percent on average from the record sum sought by President Barack Obama this year just to meet current plans, Congress's budget office said Wednesday. An average of $567 billion would be needed annually, in constant 2010 dollars, from 2011 to 2028, not including any war funding, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated. This is about 6 percent more than the bumper $534 billion requested in the base fiscal 2010 Defense Department budget, Matthew Goldberg, CBO's acting assistant director, told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee.

Seems to me that we could do better things with our money than throw it away on evil shit like this.

Article here.

SOA Watch weekend

I arrived in Columbus GA yesterday, and went to see a movie about Jimmy Massey and his objections to what the US Marines were doing in Iraq in 2003. I will write up a review of that movie one day.

Today, I went to Fort Benning and joined in the protest against the SOA and the military madness that is evident in the USA. I signed postcards for various actions - against military escalation in Afghanistan, US policies towards Israel, and the Barrier Wall in the West Bank. I will be bringing some of these postcards back to Asheville. I hope to have a showing of the movie about Jimmy Massey, who used to be a local in WNC.