Update: While the Israeli military’s statement does not make this clear at all, a second American citizen is on their list of five “confirmed terrorists” on board the Mavi Marmara. Fatima Mohammadi, a lawyer from the Chicago area, was accused of transporting “banned electronic components” to Gaza, which given the extent of the blockade could be anything from a laptop computer to a cellphone with an unusually good camera. Mohammadi is listed by Israel as an “Iranian” but CBS news in Chicago makes it clear she is an American citizen. Mohammadi was released without charges and other than a bruise from the butt of an Israeli rifle hitting her arm was apparently unharmed. She is already back in Chicago.
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Israel’s convoluted claims of secret terrorists being on board the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara aid ship, despite no one being charged with any such crime, took a leap forward today when the Israeli military decided to name names.
Among the official “terrorists” named by the Israeli military but mysteriously already released was US citizen and long-time antiwar activist Kenneth O’Keefe, who the military claimed was plotting to “train and establish Hamas commando units.”
O’Keefe, a former US Marine and veteran of the first Gulf War, may be remembered by some as the leader of a group of antiwar protesters who went to Iraq in early 2003, ahead of the US invasion, to organize the Human Shield Action to Iraq.
O’Keefe and some 80 other non-violent activists stayed in Baghdad throughout the initial invasion, holding positions in Iraqi orphanages and hospitals in an attempt to prevent them being attacked by the invading troops. None of the protesters were injured, and none of the sites they protected were attacked.
Since leaving the US military O’Keefe has been an outspoken advocate of non-violent protest. He was injured while in Israeli custody, reportedly after being beaten in detention, and is now in an Istanbul hospital recovering.
"a former us marine" well i guess they are correct…
but it seems like he has renounced and atoned for his past mistakes.
now its just a matter of time for con-necticut favorite senator to call for his citizenship to be revoked
Israel even would name Jesus a terrorist if he himself was on board Mavi Marmara trying to help those who needs help.
The Israeli disinformation machine is spinning 24/24 hours a day. This Likud government could disgust people so much they won't even want to hear about Israel. This has been going on for 60 years. I no longer believe a word they say.
If they keep on they will have to take up weaving just to get rid of the spin.
This probably means he was the Mossad man on board. They had inside infiltrators and strangely no one is asking who those inflitrators were.
O'Keefe denounced his American citizenship on worldwide TV in the run-up to the Iraq war. I watched him do it. The video clip was played ad nauseum on all cable TV news channels. He stated, paraphrasing, 'I'm now a citizen of the world'. I think he even burned his American passport in the clip.
He's no American.
I found some info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_O%27Keefe
BTW, I am a long-time paleo conservative anti-Zionist, and agree with 98% of the articles on your fine site. I just think you shouldn't call this guy an American when he isn't, AFAIK.
For a Muslim an innocent is innocent and we don,t diffrenciate between nationalities. This is the beauty of Islam. Undoubtedly West is presenting Islam as terrorist but they forget that we are victim not oppresser. This is a devine law sin is a sin is the same who has commited. Definition of a Muslim which prophet Mohammad has given is that the people are safe and secure from a Muslim. Undoubtetly Wester countries publish every day a book against Muslims and Islam but we never published a book or article against any religion. If in India Hindu extremist party BJP wins the election and forms a government the west don,t impose sanctions but if Hammas wins election is a terrorist organisation. This moral standard of US.
Actually, the universality of truth is part of the western tradition, the tradition of ATHENS, as well. Judaism is NOT part of the Western tradition. It's "philosophic" roots remain in Jerusalem. Most religions have as their guiding thesis: Is it true? In Judaism an idea's worth isn't based upon its truth butupon the question, " Is it good for the Jews?"
Looks like O'Keefe took one serious pounding. Let's see here, what was it Joe 'zionista' Biden had to say? Oh yeah, "what's the big deal?" Hmmm, murder, piracy, terrorism, AND brutality that is beyond the pale. Israel does NOT have the right to decide who or whom is not "terrorist." Of course, Israel does not have the right to commit acts of war in international waters. But and however, that doesn't seem to bother Joe 'zionista' Biden.
Thanks to blogs such as Anti-War, the People all around the world, but particularly in the US, are awakening to the truth. The masks worn by the fascist socialist elitists and their repeated lies told and retold over the last two centuries are being exposed by the light of the Truth.
The world is as a negative photo image: everything is reversed in reality – what we were brainwashed and conditioned to believe as to who are "the good guys" and who are "the bad guys" is absolutely reversed! Who are the warmongers going throughout the earth killing and pillaging, raping and destroying? The "evil muslims" or the CIA/MOSSAD//MI6/NATO created terrrorist groups? WHO'S ARMING AND FUNDING "TERRORISTS" AND THUG DICTATORS (usually coming out of The School of the Americas!)?! WHO'S SUPPLYING "TERRORISTS" WITH WEAPONS AND MATERIAL?! WHO'S PROFITING FROM GLOBAL TERRORISM AND CRIMINAL OFFENSIVE WARFARE THROUGHOUT THE EARTH?! Follow the money, follow who truly benefits from all of this deliberately created "chaos" in the world!
REMEMBER THE USS LIBERTY!!! Who are the real enemies of the US (the People)?
Who are the real criminal warmongers responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity? The Truth becomes more clearer by the day now.
The American people and the world must not allow the fascist elites to desecrate and destroy America's founding principles and charter documents that established for the first time, PERSONAL GOD-GIVEN INALIENABLE RIGHTS ABOVE ALL HUMAN GOVERNMENT; THE PRICELESS VALUE OF EACH HUMAN LIFE THAT IS WORTH DEFENDING AND SAFEGUARDING WITH ALL PROTECTIONS, HEAVY CHAINS AND FETTERS UPON GOVERNMENT TO SAFEGUARD ALL PEOPLE. When a governmetn becomes destructive to that end, it is the RIGHT AND THE DUTY of the People to remove such government and to establish a new, LAWFUL GOVERNMENT to restore adn secure those principles again!
America used to know how to deal with Mediterranean pirates.
The next time you hear the Marine Corps Hymn and its line about the "Shores of Tripoli", go look up what Thomas Jefferson did to the med pirates of his day.
I find that asking "What Would Thomas Do?" is always a useful guide.
Insanity based on lies.
Why don't the people on the ship have a right to self defense? This is key to the Israeli lie machine. They claim Israel has the right to attack anyone in the world at anytime if they feel even vaguely threatened. But people on a ship being attacked in the dark by armed men have no right to defend themselves. That's insane.
Where exactly are all these armed Turks? Israel says this, but they have to keep changing their story, and they seem to be slow in manufacturing their evidence.
If there were really violently armed turks on those ships, why didn't they just bring machine guns to fire at the commandos, and SAM missiles to shoot down the helicopters. Apparently we are supposed to believe that there were vicious armed turks on the ship, but that they didn't think to bring any better weapons with them than clubs.
And, there's the old McCarthy line of guilt by association. The logic that says that anyone who tries to help Gaza is a terrorist is just insane. No, what's really way over the line into insanity is to extend that into saying that anyone who tries to help Gaza deserves to be gunned down with machine guns.
Insanity. Pure, simple, way far gone over the cookoo clock insanity.
And when the insane are using their insanely twisted logic to justify in their twisted minds their crazy decisions to start machine gunning 70 people to death …. well then we are all in danger.
And if we are all in danger, what rights to self defense do we have? Israel would say that since they are the master race, that we have none. But most of the rest of us would disagree.
correction … 70 injured and killed total
Ken O'Keefe's words are up on counterpunch.
http://www.counterpunch.org/okeefe06072010.html
"I said this straight to Israeli agents, probably of Mossad or Shin Bet, and I say it again now, on the morning of the attack I was directly involved in the disarming of two Israeli Commandos. This was a forcible, non-negotiable, separation of weapons from commandos who had already murdered two brothers that I had seen that day. One brother with a bullet entering dead center in his forehead, in what appeared to be an execution.
I knew the commandos were murdering when I removed a 9mm pistol from one of them. I had that gun in my hands and as an ex-US Marine with training in the use of guns it was completely within my power to use that gun on the commando who may have been the murderer of one of my brothers. But that is not what I, nor any other defender of the ship did. I took that weapon away, removed the bullets, proper lead bullets, separated them from the weapon and hid the gun. I did this in the hopes that we would repel the attack and submit this weapon as evidence in a criminal trial against Israeli authorities for mass murder. I also helped to physically separate one commando from his assault rifle, which another brother apparently threw into the sea.
I and hundreds of others know the truth that makes a mockery of the brave and moral Israeli military. We had in our full possession, three completely disarmed and helpless commandos. These boys were at our mercy, they were out of reach of their fellow murderers, inside the ship and surrounded by 100 or more men. I looked into the eyes of all three of these boys and I can tell you they had the fear of God in them. They looked at us as if we were them, and I have no doubt they did not believe there was any way they would survive that day. They looked like frightened children in the face of an abusive father.
But they did not face an enemy as ruthless as they. Instead the woman provided basic first aid, and ultimately they were released, battered and bruised for sure, but alive. Able to live another day. Able to feel the sun over head and the embrace of loved ones. Unlike those they murdered. Despite mourning the loss of our brothers, feeling rage towards these boys, we let them go. "
To me, pacifist means not initiating violence and not using more violence than necessary to defend yourself.
What Israel is demanding is passivity, which is an utter lack of resistance to anything Israel chooses to do. Israel's arguments say these people brought their fate upon themselves just by daring to get on the boat. Which is to say that anyone who dares to resist can be murdered.
We all have the right to resist. We don't have the right to murder. Israel demands that we all give up any right to resist, which of course must be resisted.
Even the ten commandments don't include "Thou shalt not resist."
The world could use more "forcible non-negotiable separation of weapons" from those who wield them.
Ken O'Keefe
Though I have never served, I still wish to salute you as a great American.
As long as there are the likes of you, the America that I loved once, must still live !
You are obviously delusional, but I'm glad you were able to announce the zionist password, "anti-semite," twice in such a short paragraph. Keep up the good work!
Tomorrow is the anniversary of the U.S.S. Liberty massacre. Lets remember the last ones of us that actually shot back at the thugs.
Shmuel
The "humanity" you are refering to, isn't, and neither are you, apparently
Who is the rest of humanity Sam? From where I come (South America), it's true, we aren't fooled anymore…by Israel's lies.
All you need to do is refer to someone as a "terrorist" and anything that you do becomes justified. Sick.
Sam
Whom do you refer to when you say "The rest of humanity"?
It seems that you are spewing forth that tired old line of anti-semite this, and anti-semite that, which is the standard Israeli reaction to anyone who disagrees with them in any way.
I cant think of another religion or culture that is so paranoid and closed to rational discussion that they actually have a word for anyone who doesn't agree with them in every possible, on every possible occasion.
Well its time to wake up and look around and see that EVERY country in the world has condemned the latest Israeli actions to the U.N.
With the sole exceptions being Israel and the U.S.
So that makes is only 1 other country apart from Israel that hasn't condemned Israeli actions out of approximately 192-194 countries in the world.
Any rational person would then take this to mean that the "Majority of humanity" is disgusted and condemns Israeli actions.
Does that make the whole world anti-semite? Maybe its way past time that the Israeli people had a long hard look at themselves and realize that they live on a planet 6 billion other people who are disgusted with what they are seeing. I don't think that the people of the world are born anti-semite are they.? But if there as many anti-semite people on the planet as Israel claims there are then maybe Israeli scientist, politicians and religious leaders should be taking a closer look at the cause of this phenomenon.
Respectfully yours,
Nick Mulgrave
Sam
Whom do you refer to when you say "The rest of humanity"?
It seems that you are spewing forth that tired old line of anti-semite this, and anti-semite that, which is the standard Israeli reaction to anyone who disagrees with them in any way.
I cant think of another religion or culture that is so paranoid and closed to rational discussion that they actually have a word for anyone who doesn't agree with them in every possible way, on every possible occasion.
Well its time to wake up and look around and see that EVERY country in the world has condemned the latest Israeli actions to the U.N.
With the sole exceptions being Israel and the U.S.
So that makes it only 1 other country apart from Israel that hasn't condemned Israeli actions out of approximately 192-194 countries in the world.
Any rational person would then take this to mean that the "Majority of humanity" is disgusted and condemns Israeli actions.
Does that make the whole world anti-semite? Maybe its way past time that the Israeli people had a long hard look at themselves and realize that they live on a planet 6 billion other people who are disgusted with what they are seeing. I don't think that the people of the world are born anti-semite are they.? But if there as many anti-semite people on the planet as Israel claims there are then maybe Israeli scientist, politicians and religious leaders should be taking a closer look at the cause of this phenomenon.
Respectfully yours,
Nick Mulgrave
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