The U.S military estimates $360 million in U.S. tax dollars has ended up in the hands of the Taliban, criminals, and power brokers with ties to both. The money was awarded to Afghan businesses in a central Obama administration policy that finances business contracts...
Abbas Ready to Accept US Statehood Veto
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that he is prepared to accept the Obama administration's expected veto of Palestinian statehood at the United Nations next month, saying he will “continue to cooperate with the Americans” even if that happens....
Kuwaiti Gitmo Detainee Fears Indefinite Detention
Mohammed Ahmed al Kandari has been in Guantanamo Bay detention center for almost a decade and, according to his lawyer Lt. Col. Barry Wingard, now defending him before a military tribunal, is likely to be detained indefinitely. A Kuwaiti national, Kandari went to...
State-Backed Banks Invest in Banned Cluster Bombs
British high-street banks, including two institutions that were bailed out by taxpayers, are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in companies that manufacture cluster bombs – despite a growing global ban outlawing the production and trade of the inherently...
Defense Industry’s Growth Since 9/11
The decade since 9/11 saw a massive expansion of the Pentagon's capacities and the defense industry's profits. In the past, such wartime expansions subsequently shrank for peacetime, and the military industrial complex is preparing for cutbacks. But another thing 9/11...
US-Trained Guatemalan Forces Tied To Drug Gangs
The Kaibiles, the ruthless U.S.-trained Guatemalan state militia infamous for their role in killing civilians during Guatemala's civil war, are being recruited in large numbers to violent Mexican drug gangs. Mexico's Zetas drug cartel is paying large sums to a...
US Congressman: US Economic Woes Won’t Affect Israel Aid
U.S. Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said Wednesday that financial challenges "will not have any adverse effect on America's determination to meet its promise to Israel." The blunt statement by the second-highest ranked Democrat in the House of Representatives...
Egyptians United Against US Interference
The Obama administration's plan to pour $65 million into Egypt this year, supposedly to help organize new political parties, has sparked a powerful backlash from the interim military government, Islamist parties and even some reform-minded activists. Groups taking...
‘I’m So Proud. I Shot Down Navy SEALs’ Chinook’
A Taliban fighter has given the first account of how his unit fired two “opportunist” rocket-propelled grenades that brought down a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan, killing 38 elite American and Afghan troops in the deadliest attack of NATO's 10-year campaign. His...
Iraqi VP: US Pullout Would Improve Security
Pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq will improve the security situation there, Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi claimed Sunday, days after Iraqi leaders agreed to negotiate a possible post-2011 occupation. Hashemi, a Sunni Muslim and one of two vice presidents whose...