America’s Secret African Drone War Emerges from the Shadows

By Nick Turse On October 7th, at an “undisclosed location” somewhere in “Southwest Asia,” men wearing different types of camouflage and dun-colored boots gathered before a black backdrop adorned with Arabic script.  They were attending a ceremony that mixed solemnity with celebration, the commemoration of a year of combat that left scores of their enemies…

Humanitarian Imperialism

Jean Bricmont Àngel Ferrero: It has been 10 years since Humanitarian Imperialism appeared in Spanish. What made you write the book? It started as a reaction to the attitude of the Left during the 1999 Kosovo war, which was largely accepted on humanitarian grounds and to the rather weak opposition of the peace movement before the…

Deadliest Terror in the World : The West’s Latest Gift to Africa

By Dan Glazebrook Nigeria’s Boko Haram are now officially the deadliest terror group in the world. That they have reached this position is a direct consequence of Cameron and co’s war on Libya – and one that was perhaps not entirely unintended. According to a report just released by Global Terrorism Index, Boko Haram were…

Caribbean : Africans, Asians and Indigenous Peoples Demand Reparations

David Cameron’s Visit to Jamaica – Amusing and Dangerous By Pambana Bassett and Jeanette Charles In mid-October the Belize Commission: Initiative for Justice and Reparations (BCIJR), called on Belizeans of all oppressed backgrounds to gather at the Belmopan Convention Center for the Second Annual Popular Justice and Reparations Convention. Belizeans across racial and ethnic groups have…

Target Africa : The US Military’s Expanding Footprint in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula

By Nick Turse “Morning dawns at length in Africa. The night has been long and dark. The opening day has a hopeful outlook and also an aspect of uncertainty. … For many years little colonies, trading-posts, and slave-marts have fringed its borders; but the vast interior has remained a blank.” — Historical Sketch of the…

America’s Elite Forces Deploy to a Record-Shattering 147 Countries in 2015

Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Special Ops “Successes” “As far back as Vietnam…the United States military has tended to confuse inputs with outcomes. Effort, as measured by operations conducted, bomb tonnage dropped, or bodies counted, is taken as evidence of progress made. Today, tallying up the number of countries in which Special Operations forces are present…

US Special Ops : A Secret War Waged in 135 Countries

2015 Proves to Be Record-Breaking Year for the Military’s Secret Military By Nick Turse You can find them in dusty, sunbaked badlands, moist tropical forests, and the salty spray of third-world littorals. Standing in judgement, buffeted by the rotor wash of a helicopter or sweltering beneath the relentless desert sun, they instruct, yell, and cajole…

“Not in the Name of Allende nor Socialism”

Pablo Sepulveda Allende Painful and unacceptable are the declarations of the President of the Chilean Socialist Party against the conviction of Leopoldo Lopez, an opposition leader found guilty of incitement to violence and other crimes defined in the openly seditious plan called “the Exit”* that lead to a powerful wave of fascist street violence that…

The Political Legacy of Hugo Chavez

By James Petras Hugo Chavez always thought that the Bolivarian revolution was a continuous process in two senses – 1) the contemporary revolution was a continuation of the historic national liberation struggle led by Simon Bolivar in the early 19th century. 2) The political and national revolution begun with his election in 1998 must, of…

Europe : Divided Continent Imperils the Future of Millions Fleeing from Oppressed Nations

Migrants Facing Inhumane Treatment in Europe Abayomi Azikiwe Libya 360° Hungarian officials have again threatened migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia with imprisonment if they continue to cross their borders or refuse to abide by repressive treatment. Budapest says that it completed a fence across its border with Serbia to halt the flow…

Garrisoning the Globe

David Vine How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Undermine National Security and Harm Us All With the U.S. military having withdrawn many of its forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, most Americans would be forgiven for being unaware that hundreds of U.S. bases and hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops still encircle the globe. Although few know…

US Special Ops in Africa : Problem Partners, Ugly Outcomes

Members of the U.S. Special Operations forces alongside soldiers from the 3rd Battalion Intervention Rapid (BIR) training together in Bamenda, Cameroon, on January 17, 2013. (Photo by Air Force Master Sgt. Larry W. Carpenter Jr.) US Special Ops Missions in Africa Fail to Stem Rising Tide of Terror Groups, Coups, and Human Rights Abuses By…

America’s Imperial Footprint in Africa

By Eric Draitser The following text is taken from an interview conducted on August 19, 2015 with CounterPunch Radio host Eric Draitser on WBAI 99.5FM New York City. WBAI: In the past decade, America has quietly expanded its military presence throughout Africa. Take us there as a starting point and educate us. Eric Draitser: The…

Making Black Lives Matter in Riohacha, Colombia

By Ajamu Baraka A gentle breeze from the Caribbean sea should have provided temporary relief from the scorching sun for our small group of international observers gathered together in a stuffy, concrete hall off the beach in Riochacha, Colombia. But that breeze was unable to compete with the “street heat” generated by the hundreds of…