Just how deep does the rabbit hole go?
War
United States Is Fighting 74 Wars
01 day ago
United States Is Fighting 74 Wars
Posted by NextNewsNetwork
Stream: http://NextNewsNetwork.com
Researchers Linda J. Bilmes and Michael D. Intriligator have documented that the Pentagon is presently involved in 74 conflicts world-wide, either in an active combat role, or by supplying military “advisers” to friendly governments.
This report also includes…
Oil company offices in London, the Netherlands and Norway were raided by regulators from the European Commission on May 15 as part of an investigation into suspected price-fixing, pressuring companies such as BP, Shell, and Statoil of Norway to end the banking secrecy.
According to official estimates, more than 50,000 Pakistanis have died as a result of the so-called war on terror — which is why both contenders in the recent presidential election, in which incumbent Nawaz Sharif turned back a challenge by the immensely popular Imran Khan — openly campaign for an end to the country’s involvement in the US war on terror.
The U.S. Navy test-launched an unmanned drone the size of a fighter jet on May 15. The prototype X-47B drone, which has a range of 2,100 nautical miles and a ceiling of more than 40,000 feet, took off from the USS GEORGE HW BUSH in a test flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
US Suspends Constitution in Permanent World War on Terror
14 days ago
Source: http://www.activistpost.com
By Eric Blair
Two disturbing developments have occurred in the last couple of days that have gone relatively unnoticed compared to the recent IRS, AP, and Benghazi scandals.
First, the senate is debating an expansion of the already broad powers of the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) so the U.S. can essentially engage any area in the world in the war on terror, including America. Which brings us to the second development: the Pentagon has recently granted itself police powers on American soil.
Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Sheehan told Congress yesterday that the AUMF authorized the US military to operate on a worldwide battlefield from Boston to Pakistan. Sheehan emphasized that the Administration is authorized to put boots on the ground wherever the enemy chooses to base themselves, essentially ignoring the declaration of war clause in the US Constitution.
Senator Angus King said this interpretation of the AUMF is a “nullity” to the Constitution because it ignores Congress’ role to declare war. King called it the “most astoundingly disturbing hearing” he’s been to in the Senate.
Even ultra-hawk John McCain agreed that the AUMF has gone way beyond its authority.
“This authority … has grown way out of proportion and is no longer applicable to the conditions that prevailed, that motivated the United States Congress to pass the authorization for the use of military force that we did in 2001,” McCain said.
Glenn Greenwald wrote an excellent piece describing how this hearing reveals the not-so-secret plan to make the war on terror a permanent fixture in Western society.
Greenwald writes:
It is hard to resist the conclusion that this war has no purpose other than its own eternal perpetuation. This war is not a means to any end but rather is the end in itself. Not only is it the end itself, but it is also its own fuel: it is precisely this endless war – justified in the name of stopping the threat of terrorism – that is the single greatest cause of that threat.
A self-perpetuating permanent war against a shadowy undefinable enemy appears to be the future of American foreign policy. How convenient for the war machine and tyrants who claim surveillance is safety.
But perhaps most disturbing of all of this is the military’s authority to police American streets as if it was in civil war. For all those still in denial that America is a militarized police state, this should be the ultimate cure to your delusion.
Jeff Morey of AlterNet writes:
By making a few subtle changes to a regulation in the U.S. Code titled “Defense Support of Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies” the military has quietly granted itself the ability to police the streets without obtaining prior local or state consent, upending a precedent that has been in place for more than two centuries.
The most objectionable aspect of the regulatory change is the inclusion of vague language that permits military intervention in the event of “civil disturbances.” According to the rule: “Federal military commanders have the authority, in extraordinary emergency circumstances where prior authorization by the President is impossible and duly constituted local authorities are unable to control the situation, to engage temporarily in activities that are necessary to quell large-scale, unexpected civil disturbances.”
A law from 1878 called the Posse Comitatus Act was put in place to prevent the Department of Defense from interfering with local law enforcement. But now, the DoD claims they’ve had this authority for over 100 years.
Is Gov’t Response to Terror, Terror? – Prof. Beau Grosscup
11 week ago
Is Gov’t Response to Terror, Terror? – Prof. Beau Grosscup (Video Interview)
Next News Network interviews Prof. Beau Grosscup regarding the governments response to terror threats and terror attacks.
Stream: http://NextNewsNetwork.com
Pentagon’s 13 Offensive ‘Cyberattack’ Teams to Strike Across the World
02 months ago
Source: http://spreadlibertynews.com
By Jason Ditz
Cyber Command chief General Keith Alexander has unveiled some new information about the nation’s cyberwarfare policy, revealing in a Senate hearing the creation of 13 “cyberattack” teams, which he dubbed part of the “cyber cadre,” that are authorized to engage in preemptive cyberwarfare across the planet.
Alexander sought to downplay the seriousness of this revelation after the fact, insisting that they are “offensive” units, but are aimed primarily at deterrence, and are “analogous to battalions in the Army and Marine Corps.”
Except that the Army and Marine Corps don’t try to build deterrence credibility by launching unilateral attacks on other nations, or at least to the extent that they do, it is unquestionably an act of war, and done publicly.
The Pentagon has repeatedly made it clear they would view such cyberattacks by other nations as no different than any other military attack, but at the same time their own cyberwarfare units are treating offensive operations as a matter of course. Officials have repeatedly complained that such attacks are on the rise from hackers in other nations, but the US seems to be looking not to defend against such attacks, but rather to get in on the fun.
Image Reference
VisitingDC
International Law? A Corbett Report Exposé on The Rational Lie of International Criminal Law
02 months ago
Source: http://xrepublic.tv
SHOW NOTES AND MP3: http://www.corbettreport.com/?p=7047Truth. Justice. Accountability. The idea of an international rule of law appeals to our innate sense of justice, but the most horrific plans are often cloaked in the most beautiful lies. Just as the ideals of international law are used to cloak the imperial ambitions of the globalists, so too is the idea of seeking justice in these controlled courtrooms a phoney pipe dream. Join us today on The Corbett Report as we explore the only real solution to this problem: removing the bodyguard of lies from the power elite and to withdrawing ourselves from the systems that seek to legitimize their rule.
North Korea threatens pre-emptive strike
02 months ago
Source: http://www.cbc.ca
The Associated Press | Posted: Mar 7, 2013 2:52 AM ET | Last Updated: Mar 7, 2013 4:52 AM ET
Warning comes ahead of UN Security Council vote on new sanctions
South Korean soldiers check military fences as they patrol near the demilitarized zone separating North Korea from South Korea, in Paju, north of Seoul February 12, 2013. The UN Security Council will vote on proposed new sanctions against North Korea Thursday morning. (Lee Jae-Won/Reuters)
North Korea on Thursday vowed to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States, amplifying its threatening rhetoric hours ahead of a vote by UN diplomats on whether to level new sanctions against Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test.
An unidentified spokesman for Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry said the North will exercise its right for “pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the headquarters of the aggressors” because Washington is pushing to start a nuclear war against the North.
Although North Korea boasts of nuclear bombs and pre-emptive strikes, it is not thought to have mastered the ability to produce a warhead small enough to put on a missile capable of reaching the U.S. It is believed to have enough nuclear fuel, however, for a handful of crude nuclear devices.
Such inflammatory rhetoric is common from North Korea, but it has been coming regularly in recent days. North Korea is angry over the possible sanctions and over upcoming U.S.-South Korean military drills.
UN to vote on 4th round of sanctions
The UN Security Council is set to impose a fourth round of sanctions against Pyongyang in a fresh attempt to rein in its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the current council president, said the council will vote on the draft sanctions resolution Thursday morning.
The resolution was drafted by the United States and China, North Korea’s closest ally. The council’s agreement to put the resolution to a vote just 48 hours later signalled that it would almost certainly have the support of all 15 council members.
The statement by the North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman was carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
It accused the U.S. of leading efforts to slap sanctions on North Korea. The statement said the new sanctions would only advance the timing for North Korea to fulfil previous vows of taking “powerful second and third countermeasures” against its enemies. Those measures haven’t been specifically elaborated on.
“We gravely warn that at a time when we cannot avoid a second Korean War, the UN Security Council, which served as the U.S. puppet in 1950 and made Korean people harbour eternal grudges against it, must not commit the same crime again,” it said.
North Korea in the statement demanded the UN Security Council immediately dismantle the American-led UN Command that’s based in Seoul and move to end the state of war that exists on the Korean Peninsula, which continues six decades after fighting stopped because an armistice, not a peace treaty, ended the war.
© The Associated Press, 2013
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Republished with permission
Head of Chadian army claims troops kill Belmoktar
02 months ago
Source: http://www.cbc.ca
By The Associated Press Posted: Mar 2, 2013 4:17 PM ET | Last Updated: Mar 2, 2013 6:36 PM ET
Belmoktar believed to be responsible for attack on natural gas plant in Algeria
The head of Chad’s military has announced Saturday that Chadian troops deployed in northern Mali have killed Moktar Belmoktar. (SITE Intel Group/Associated Press)
Chad’s military chief announced late Saturday that his troops deployed in northern Mali had killed Moktar Belmoktar, the terrorist who orchestrated the attack on a natural gas plant in Algeria that left 36 foreigners dead.
The French military, which is leading the offensive against al-Qaeda-linked rebels in Mali, said they could not immediately confirm the information.
Local officials in Kidal, the northern town that is being used as the base for the military operation, cast doubt on the assertion, saying Chadian officials are attempting to score a public relations victory to make up for the significant losses they have suffered in recent days.
Known as the “one-eyed,” Belmoktar’s profile soared after the mid-January attack and mass hostage-taking on a huge Algerian gas plant.
His purported death comes a day after Chad’s president said his troops had killed Abou Zeid, the other main al-Qaeda commander operating in northern Mali.
Doubts surround both deaths
If both deaths are confirmed, it would mean that the international intervention in Mali had succeeded in decapitating two of the pillars of al-Qaeda in the Sahara.
“Chad’s armed forces in Mali have completely destroyed a base used by jihadists and narcotraffickers in the Adrar and Ifoghas mountains” of northern Mali, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Zakaria Ngobongue said in a televised statement on state-owned National Chadian Television. “The provisional toll is as follows: Several terrorists killed, including Moktar Belmoktar.”
The French military moved into Mali on Jan. 11 to push back militants linked to Belmoktar and Abou Zeid and other extremist groups who had imposed harsh Islamic rule in the north of the vast country and who were seen as an international terrorist threat.
France is trying to rally other African troops to help in the military campaign, since Mali’s military is weak and poor. Chadian troops have offered the most robust reinforcement.
In Paris, French military spokesman Col. Thierry Burkhard said that he had “no information” on the possibility that Belmoktar was dead. The Foreign Ministry refused to confirm or deny the report.
A spokesman for Chad’s presidential palace did not immediately return a request for comment.
In Kidal in northern Mali, an elected official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said that he did not believe that Belmoktar was dead and waved off the claim as an attempt by Chad to explain the loss of dozens of their troops to a grieving nation.
“These last few weeks, the Chadians have lost a significant number of soldiers in combat. (Claiming that they killed Belmoktar) is a way to give some importance to their intervention in Mali,” said the official, who keeps in close contact with both French and Malian commanders in the field.
Belmoktar, Zeid ran al-Qaeda brigades
Belmoktar, an Algerian, is believed to be in his 40s, and like his sometimes partner and sometimes rival, Abou Zeid, he began on the path to terrorism after Algeria’s secular government voided the 1991 election won by an Islamic party.
Both men joined the Armed Islamic Group, or GIA, and later its offshoot, the GSPC, a group that carried out suicide bombings on Algerian government targets.
Around 2003, both men crossed into Mali, where they began a lucrative kidnapping business, snatching European tourists, aid workers, government employees and even diplomats and holding them for multimillion-dollar ransoms.
The Algerian terror cell amassed a significant war chest, and joined the al-Qaeda fold in 2006, renaming itself al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Belmoktar claims he trained in Afghanistan in the 1990s, including in one of Osama Bin Laden’s camps. It was there that he reportedly lost an eye, earning him the nickname “Laaouar,” Arabic for “one-eyed.”
Until last December, Belmoktar and Abou Zeid headed separate brigades under the flag of al-Qaeda’s chapter in the Sahara. But after months of reports of infighting between the two, Belmoktar peeled off, announcing the creation of his own terror unit, still loyal to the al-Qaeda ideology but separate from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
It was this group that launched the fatal attack on a BP-operated natural gas plant in southeastern Algeria in retaliation for the French-led military intervention in Mali.
In the attack and in the subsequent rescue attempt, 37 people, all but one of them foreigners, were killed inside the complex. Belmoktar claimed responsibility for the attack within hours, immediately catapulting him into the ranks of international terrorists.
In addition to the alleged killing of Belmoktar, Ngobongue said that Chad’s military had also nabbed 60 of the jihadists’ cars, electronic equipment and weapons. “The raid is still ongoing,” he said.
© The Associated Press, 2013
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Republished with permission
Upcoming Election – U.S. Working to Install Pro-U.S. Leaders in Mali?
03 months ago
Source: http://spreadlibertynews.com
By Ezra Van Auken
It’s a matter of time until the United States becomes more involved with the Malian occupation. However with indication from Senator Chris Cons, that involvement could come through politics. So far, the U.S. has provided logistical support, refueling, and training to Malian soldiers, and most recently, the $50 million President Obama signed to Western forces.
Now, with the Malian elections coming up, the U.S. looks bright-eyed to have some effect or influence on the cycle. The Herald Sun notes that U.S. officials “cannot work directly with the Malian army until a democratically elected government replaces current leaders who came to power after a coup,” which will probably be the excuse for involvement in Mali’s elections. It’s inevitable that U.S. interests will get involved with Mali’s government, something that happens in nearly every country that America occupies.
Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Africa sub-committee, Chris Coons, told reporters, “There is the hope that there will be additional support from the United States in these and other areas, but … American law prohibits direct assistance to the Malian military following the coup,” calling on more of a U.S.-installed government than what is in place currently. “After there is a full restoration of democracy, I would think it is likely that we will renew our direct support for the Malian military,” Sen. Coons said.
Sen. Coons went on a bipartisan trip to Mali to meet with interim president, Dioncounda Traore, and French and African defense officials. Foreign policy analyst, Jason Ditz reminds spectators, “Before one takes that with a grain of salt, one must remember that the US considers Yemen’s democracy fully functioning after an election with a single US-selected candidate.” In all, Yemen is far from being a perfect government and is experiencing many corrupted problems.
Image Reference
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=102228
Disturbing Pattern! Yet Another Military General Forced from Service
03 months ago
Source: http://minutemennews.com
It’s a developing pattern of this Obama White House.
Barack Obama cashiered yet another battle-seasoned American general Tuesday, even as the war in Afghanistan continues along with numerous other serious global threats to United States security.
This is the fourth senior officer Obama has forced from the country’s service.
All four were tied somehow to the Afghanistan mess that Obama has long argued was the most important war. Each departure was staged as a resignation. They were usually tied to some personal indiscretions to save face for Obama, who would know of indiscretions as a product of the corrupt Chicago Democrat machine.
There was Gen. David McKiernan, the four-star who lead U.S. ground forces during the successful lightning Iraq invasion. He was asked to resign command of allied forces in Afghanistan just four months into Obama’s presidency in 2009. Never fully explained, but the implication was administration dissatisfaction with the war’s progress.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, a special ops veteran who was McKiernan’s successor. He resigned when his staff was quoted making derogatory comments to an embedded journalist about the administration in general and VP Joe Biden in particular. If mocking Megamind Biden is worthy of resignation, then most of America needs to step down by lunch today.
Gen. David Petraeus, the archictect of the surge and successful counter-insurgency strategy in Iraq, was demoted from Central Command to return to lead the Afghan war. After that successful tour Obama named him director of the Central Intelligence Agency, which required his military resignation after nearly four decades of service.
Read More: http://news.investors.com/
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Image credit: http://minutemennews.com
So are all these resignations related to this earlier post?
Has WWIII already begun? Gerald Celente breaks down the Past, Present, and Future
03 months ago
Gary Franchi and Next News Network interview Trends forecaster Gerald Celente covering our current condition and future paths. Topics discussed cover the economy, the power play behind ever expanding wars and the natural resources involved, Wall Street and the government blessing to the “too big to fail” organizations plus the recent gun control moves by the administration and the history behind it all.
This is a work in progess, a self learning tool and fun little project. Please excuse the slow development as it seems the needed proper time is always lacking. It is my hope that the combination of content and links to other sources of information in this simple blog may help awaken a few of the sleeping masses and encourage and inspire others to initiate their own research, ultimately for each person to be a light to help awaken others. Opinions expressed belong to me, myself and I. Also, a big thank you to all that take the time to visit, it is appreciated :)
