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Syria/Turkey News - Oct 18, 2014
Kurds are repelling Islamic State attack on Kobani with help of US air strikes - The Independent
Kurds: Islamic State 'being driven out of Syria's Kobane’ - BBC News
VIDEO: Islamic State pushed back with help of U.S. airstrikes in Kobani - CNN.com
Rights Group: More Than 600 Killed on Both Sides in Fight for Kobani - VOA
Kobani fight an opportunity to blunt Islamic State, general says - CNN.com
VIDEO: Pentagon: Expanded airstrikes show desired effects against Islamic State - YouTube
VIDEO: Full Pentagon Briefing On Operation Inherent Resolve Against Islamic State - DoD News
Kobani key to US strategy against Islamic State - Yahoo News
Why The Fight Against IS In Kobani Matters - huffingtonpost.com
The Islamic State operating fighter aircraft, fact or fiction? - Oryx Blog
Foreign Fighters Bring Their Kids To Join IS, But Moms Are Fighting Back - huffingtonpost.com
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In policy shift, U.S. opens direct talks with Syrian Kurds - McClatchy DC
VIDEO: State Department: U.S. holds first direct talks with Syrian Kurdish PYD party - Ohaber
Syrian Kurds Gain Importance In Campaign Against Islamic State - huffingtonpost.com
Syrian Kurdish official calls for antitank weapons for Kobani - The Boston Globe
Kurdistan Parliament Wants KRG to Recognize Kurdish Syrian Cantons - BAS NEWS
Peshmerga train Syrian Kurd fighters in northern Iraq - Worldbulletin News
Peshmerga head speaks of struggle against IS - Al-Monitor
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Air strikes against Islamic State in Kobani are just a PR exercise, Turkey says - National Post
Turkey will not allow its citizens to fight in Kobane: PM Davutoğlu - hurriyetdailynews
Ankara outlines border of possible ‘safe zone’ inside Syria (MAP) - yenisafak.com
Islamist Terrorists Are Quiet Neighbor for Turkey 20 Miles From Kobani - Bloomberg
Kurdish militants warn of “violent conflict” if Turkish police given more powers - Rudaw
Turkey, Qatar Complicate Operation Against IS: Special Report - Fox News Channel
UNSC failure a strong message to Turkey on its faulty foreign policy - todayszaman.com
Turkey's massive corruption case dropped by prosecutor - hurriyetdailynews
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle[at]yahoo[dot]com (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)
Syria/Turkey News - Oct 16, 2014
Air raids slow Islamic State advance around Syria's Kobani: US military - AFP
Pentagon: Strikes near Kobani have killed hundreds of Islamic State fighters - The Washington Post
Syrian Kurds say giving targets for U.S. strikes near Kobani - Reuters
U.S. Airstrikes Cut Islamic State Oil Production by 70 Percent - Businessweek
Obama 'Deeply Concerned' by IS Advances in Kobane - VICE
Remarks by the President After Meeting with Chiefs of Defense - The White House
C.I.A. Study of Covert Aid Fueled Skepticism About Helping Syrian Rebels - NYTimes.com
U.S. won’t work with current Syrian rebel groups to battle Islamic State - Columbus Ledger Enquirer
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Kurdish leaders meet to end feud and save Kobane - Rudaw
US won’t support Syrian Kurds as long as they are divided: official - Kurdpress News Aganecy
Kurdistan Parliament Invites Kurdish Syrian Cantons to Erbil - BAS NEWS
France will keep delivering arms to Kurdish Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State group - Fox News
Syrian Kurds Press Hundreds of Young Men Into Army - ABC News
Dutch biker gang grabs rifles, joins Kurds in fight against ISIS - Fox News
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VIDEO: Turkey’s Border War (Dispatch 1) - VICE News
France calls on Turkey to open border with Kobani - Worldbulletin News
Syria harshly criticizes Turkey on buffer zones - hurriyetdailynews
160 Kobane Kurds detained in Turkey still on hunger strike - usatoday.com
İstanbul rattled by signs of IS support - todayszaman
Did Islamic State open ‘consulate’ in Turkey? - WND
Turkey eyes new police powers after pro-Kurdish protests - THE DAILY STAR
Families tell grim story of three Turkish youths killed and mutilated by Kurds - Worldbulletin News
PKK reports first Turkish air strikes against it in two years - Rudaw
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle[at]yahoo[dot]com, (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)
Syria/Turkey News - Oct 14, 2014
U.S., Saudi Arabia Continue to Conduct Airstrikes Against Islamic State in Kobani - Defense.gov
VIDEO: U.S. Air Strikes Create Huge Smoke Cloud Over Kobani - YouTube
Woman fighter leads battle against Islamic State in Syria' Kobane (PHOTOS) - Daily Mail Online
VIDEO: Female Kurdish fighters inside Kobani - LiveLeak.com
Women Fight IS and Sexism in Kurdish Regions - NYTimes.com
PYD rounds up conscripts for battle against Islamic State - Rudaw
Hundreds of European Kurds join Peshmerga and YPG - Rudaw
Petition urges US to arm Kobani Kurds against Islamic State - APA
Kurdish Protesters Got Arrested While Marching for Kobane in London - VICE United Kingdom
FSA Northern Storm Brigade's statement against the Kurds in Kobane - justpaste.it
IS now under attack from White Shroud guerillas in Syria - Daily Mail Online
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Three Islamic State suicide attacks hit Kobane - Reuters
Gruesome photos may show IS using chemical weapons on Kurds, report says - Fox News
Iraq: Forced Marriage, Conversion for Yezidis (VIDEO) - Human Rights Watch
Genocide: 10 Reasons Why Ezidis Refuse to Return to Shingal - The Kurdistan Tribune
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Exclusive: interview of Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu with FRANCE 24 - YouTube
Erdoğan: Wiping out IS not enough, Assad the real target - Daily Sabah
Erdogan slams modern 'Lawrence of Arabias' in MidEast - THE DAILY STAR
Turkish troops allegedly threaten YPG at border - ANF
Kurdish Rebels Assail Turkish Inaction on IS as Peril to Peace Talks - NYTimes.com
VIDEO: Kobane strains Turkey’s fragile Kurdish peace process - France 24
Turkish PM: Government to toughen measures against street violence - hurriyetdailynews
Three German reporters freed after arrest while covering a pro-Kurdish protest - ekurd
Report: Little sympathy in Istanbul for Kurds amid IS group aggression (VIDEO) - France 24
Turkey, Saudi Arabia giving terrorists WMDs, Syria claims - RT News
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)
Syria/Turkey News - Oct 11, 2014
VIDEO: More Footage From Kobane in Areas under Islamic State Control - YouTube
VIDEO: From Inside Kobane: The Aftermath of Airstrikes on Islamic State - LiveLeak.com
US back-channel talks with PYD - Kurdpress News Aganecy
US Says Priority Is Islamic State In Iraq, Not Kobani - Sky News
Analysis - Kobani's fall would be symbolic setback for Obama Syria strategy - Reuters
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War for Kobane: 13,000 terrified Kurds trapped between Islamic State and Turkish border - Telegraph
Asya Abdullah calls for ‘aid corridor’ - ANF
Hagel: US wants use of Incirlik Air Base in fight against Islamic State - Stripes
Turkey to support training, equipping Syrian opposition: U.S. - THE DAILY STAR
Turkey’s top soldier to skip US-hosted IS meeting - hurriyetdailynews
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PM accuses CHP leader of ‘treason' in Kobani row, wants him to hush - todayszaman
VOA Exclusive: Turkish Troops Fire on Kurdish Protesters - VOA
VIDEO: VOA Exclusive: Turkish Troops Fire on Kurdish Protesters - YouTube
Syrian group fired at Turkish troops on border, military says - todayszaman
VIDEO: Turkish police shouts ''long live ISIS'' to Kurdish protesters - Bertramus on Twitter
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)
Syria/Turkey News - Oct 9, 2014
US-led airstrikes push jihadists back in Syrian town Kobane - AP
YPG says for the first time, the U.S. strikes had some effect - ekurd
VIDEO (Raw): Islamic State getting liquified by US air strike - LiveLeak.com
Tens of thousands of Kurds swamp Obama’s official Facebook page: Save Kobane - Rudaw
Is President Obama Sending in The Cavalry (i.e. Air Strikes) to Save Syrian Kurds? - dailykos.com
Washington's Secret Back-Channel Talks With Syria's Kurdish ‘Terrorists' - foreignpolicy.com
John Kerry hints protecting Kobani is not priority - ITV News
VIDEO: John Kerry hints protecting Kobani is not priority - YouTube
UN envoy urges help to defend Kobani - DW.DE
VIDEO: UN’s Syria envoy calls for international action to defend Kobane - YouTube
11 Rules For Journalists Covering ISIS, Issued By IS - huffingtonpost.com
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Kurdish rallies in Turkey turn bloody, (PHOTOS, VIDEO) - RT News
VIDEO (Raw): Pro-Kurd rally turns violent in Istanbul as IS on verge of capturing Kobani - YouTube
Kurdish-led Kobani protests spread to Europe - todayszaman.com
VIDEO: Kurds across Europe hold protests calling for more help for Kobani - LiveLeak.com
Street clashes pitting Kurds against radical Muslims left 23 people wounded in Germany - Yahoo News
VIDEO: Germany: Pro-IS mob attacks Kurdish protesters with MACHETES and KNIVES - YouTube
Turkish Inaction on IS Advance Dismays the U.S. - NYTimes.com
Pentagon: Turkey's proposed buffer zone not on table - Al Arabiya News
Kurdish leader Salih Muslim met with Turkish officials in Ankara - hurriyetdailynews
Kobane connected to Kurdish peace process in Turkey, HDP says - hurriyetdailynews
Gülen warns against adventurism, using force against Kurds - todayszaman.com
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)
Urgent: Right-Left Alliance Needed to Stop This War!
By David Swanson, originally published by Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity
Last year, public pressure played a big role in stopping US missile strikes on Syria. The biggest difference between then and now was that televisions weren't telling people that ISIS might be coming to their neighborhood to behead them. There were other, smaller differences as well: Britain's opposition, Russia's opposition, and the difficulty of explaining to Americans that it now made sense to join a war on the same side as al Qaeda.
But there's another big difference between last year and this year. Last year was not a Congressional election year. With elections coming this November, Congress declared an early vacation in September and fled town in order to avoid voting a new war up or down. It did this while fully aware that the President would proceed with the war illegally. Most Congress members, including House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Leader Harry Reid, believe that by allowing a war to happen without explicitly voting for or against it they can best win our votes for re-election without offending their funders.
Congress members have good reason to think that way. Numerous organizations and individuals are dumping endless energy and resources into trying to elect either Democrats or Republicans, regardless of their policies. Big groups on the left have told me that they will not have any time for opposing war until the elections are over, at which point they'll be happy to "hold accountable" any of the Democrats they've just reelected. There are organizations who do the same thing for Republicans.
When war was made the top election issue in exit polls in 2006, Democrats took power and their leader in the House, Rahm Emanuel, openly told the Washington Post that they would keep the war in Iraq going in order to campaign against it again in 2008. And so they did. Republicans elected opposing war in 2010 have been more rhetorical than substantive in their "opposition."
The current war, and the endless war it is part of, must be opposed by people across the political spectrum who put peace ahead of party. ISIS has a one-hour video asking for this war. Giving it to them, and boosting their recruitment, is insanity. Ending insane policies is not a left or right position. This is a war that involves bombing the opposite side in Syria from the side we were told we had to bomb a year ago, and simultaneously arming the same side that the U.S. government is bombing. This is madness. To allow this to continue while mumbling the obvious truth that "there is no military solution" is too great an evil to fit into any lesser-evil electoral calculation.
This war is killing civilians in such large numbers that the White House has announced that restrictions on killing civilians will not be followed. This war is being used to strip away our rights at home. It's draining our economy. It's impoverishing us -- primarily by justifying the routine annual spending of roughly $1 trillion on war preparations. It's endangering us by generating further hatred. And all of this destruction, with no up-side to be found, is driven by irrational fear that has people telling pollsters they believe this war will endanger them and they're in favor of it.
According to the Congressional Research Service 79% of weapons shipments to Middle Eastern countries are from the United States, not counting arms given to allies of ISIS or used by the US military. Rather than arming this region to the teeth and joining in wars with US weapons on both sides, the United States could arrange for and lead an arms embargo. It could also provide restitution for what it has done in recent years, including the destruction of Iraq that allowed the creation of ISIS. Making restitution in the form of actual aid (as opposed to "military aid") would cost a lot less than lobbing $2 million missiles at people who view them as recruitment posters and tickets to martyrdom. That shift would also begin to make the United States liked rather than hated.
We won't get there unless people whose souls are un-owned by political parties take over town hall meetings and let Congress members know that they must work to end this war if they want to earn our votes.
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David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org.
Thoughts of a Beheaded Head
Dostoievski once had a character imagine what a head would think if for some seconds it were aware of having been cut off by an executioner's guillotine, or if somehow it were aware for a full minute, or even for five minutes.
I should think such a head would think thoughts entirely dependent on the circumstances and that the type of blade that committed the murder wouldn't affect the thoughts too greatly.
I loved you, it might think, thinking of its loved ones. I did well there, if might think, thinking of its accomplishments. I'm sorry, it might think, dwelling momentarily on its deepest regrets -- as likely as not relatively trivial incidents in which the head together with its body had hurt someone's feelings.
I've died in a war, the head might think, despite opposing wars. I took the risk and enjoyed the thrill, yet the injustice remains. I didn't launch the war. I didn't make millions off it. I didn't win votes from it. I tried to tell people what it was, and here I am no better than a soccer ball about to cease existing as a consciousness.
As the beheaded head's remaining seconds stretched into what seemed to it a long period of time, it might be struck by the absurdity of the situation, and it might be horrified by the barbarism. I was supposed to not be the news, the head might think, and now I am the news. After pretending not to be human, my humanity -- once ended -- will now be used as a reason to escalate the war. No one will ask me. How could they?
But no one ever asked me, did they, even when I was connected to a neck and arms and legs? I reported on this battle or that atrocity. But did anyone ever ask whether the entire enterprise made me ashamed of my species? Did anyone ever ask whether the justifications used were any better than lunacy? My country decided 100 years ago that it would dominate the Middle East for oil -- oil that will destroy the world itself if the wars don't.
In recent years my country destroyed Iraq, killing a half-million to a million-and-a-half people, leaving behind a hell on earth, including a government that both beheads people and bombs them, as well as handing over weaponry to this gang that beheaded my body -- a gang that could only have arisen in the hell on earth that Washington created and which will never match Washington's scale of killing if it keeps beheading and crucifying for decades.
So what does the government of the people who read my reports do? It sends in more weapons to the close allies of ISIS and simultaneously starts bombing ISIS just one year after screaming that it must bomb the Syrian government that ISIS is fighting. And ISIS makes a movie demanding heavier U.S. attacks, and the U.S. obliges and launches heavier attacks. And ISIS recruitment soars, the weapons companies stocks soar, and I get my body cut off.
And because my body is gone from me, and because the war is begun, and because it is guaranteed to get worse rather than better, brave drone pilots will be told that they must continue the war so as not to offend themselves, and as they commit suicide after murdering people with joysticks, still more pilots will be called on so that the first ones will not have killed themselves in vain.
Why when we're alive do we act as if the whole thing isn't insane? Is it a function of our habit of acting as if our existence isn't insane? We puff ourselves up, don't we? We talk solemnly of strategy, energetically ignoring the intentional absurdity of the whole doomed project, just as we eat and eat and eat without ever once wondering what the junk we are eating will do to the worms who will dine on our flesh.
What if the world comes to its senses next week, the head might think as the world grows blurry around it. How will I feel to have missed it by so little? Well, I'll feel nothing of course, and so I do hope that it will happen. I really do. This man who's cut off my body has a loud laugh. He was sad yesterday morning and I could not ask him why. I wonder if people back home know that he thinks Americans can only understand the language of violence, so there's no sense talking to them.
Syria/Turkey News - Oct 7, 2014
Islamic State militants raise flag over Kobane as fighting intensifies - smh.com.au
Street battles as IS enters Syria's Kobane - theguardian.com
VIDEO: Islamic State flag raised over Kobane, Syria - BBC
Islamic State Takes Position on Kobane’s Mount Mishtenur - bellingcat
VIDEO: Outmatched Kurds with AK47s v IS tanks in Kobane - Peter Bouckaert on Twitter
Syrian Kurds say air strikes against IS are not working - The Guardian
Kurds confused at US reluctance to crush Islamic State - GulfNews.com
Kurdish Female Commander in Kobane Kills IS Militants in Suicide Attack - rudaw
'Grannies with Kalashnikovs' Last Line of Defence for Besieged Syrian Town - breitbart.com
At least 30 Kurdish fighters killed in two IS suicide bombs in Syria’s Hasakah - The Globe and Mail
IS’ Ammunition Is Shown to Have Origins in U.S. and China - NYTimes.com
3 New Findings On IS Weapons That You Should Know About - huffingtonpost.com
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Kurds Protesting In Turkey And Europe As Kobane About To Fall - Business Insider
VIDEO: Watch pro-Kurd protesters RAGE in fiery Istanbul clashes - YouTube
PHOTO: In Istanbul, bus on fire during protests over Kobane - Mehmet Cerit on Twitter
‘Stop IS!’ Kurdish protesters storm Dutch parliament in The Hague (PHOTOS, VIDEO) - RT News
Kurdish-Americans Appeal for US Action in Kobane - Rudaw
UN Secretary General Calls for Action to Protect Civilians in Syria’s Kobane - RIA Novosti
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VIDEO: Interview with Turkey Prime Minister on IS, Syria war - CNN
PKK, IS are the same, says Erdoğan - todayszaman
Islamic State siege of Syrian border city tests Turkey's allegiances - Washington Times
Turkish army uses tear gas to move Kurds from Syrian border - AFP
Turkish police tear-gas BBC team near Syrian border - BBC News
VIDEO: BBC crew come under attack by Turkish police near Kobane - BBC News
Anonymous customs officer: The Turkish state continues to give logistic support to IS - ANF
Ankara urges PYD leader to join ranks of Free Syrian Army against al-Assad - hurriyetdailynews
Turkey Launches Crackdown On Oil Smugglers Feeding IS - huffingtonpost.com
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)
Syria/Turkey News - Oct 4, 2014
Islamic State fighters reportedly enter Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani - ekurd
YPG Statement: IS will never be able to enter Kobani - ANF
Kurds Fight Alone as Coalition Holds Fire Against Jihadist Tanks - Businessweek
VIDEO: Dramatic footage of Islamic State advance on Syrian Kurdish Kobani city - YouTube
WYPG Women Soldiers in a War Against IS - Marie Claire
VIDEO: Kurdish Female Fighters VS. The Islamic State (Australian documentary) - liveleak.com
Mayadeen: 100s of Nusra fighters in Aleppo & Idlib defected to IS & headed to Alshadadi in Hassaka after giving bayaa - Joshua Landis on Twitter
MAP: Who and from where is coming to join IS - James Denselow on Twitter
Seven members of Syria family executed by jihadists - THE DAILY STAR
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VIDEO: Turkey tanks idle as IS attacks Kobane - BBC News
Watching Kobane battle, Kurds lose faith in Turkey anti-IS action - Yahoo Maktoob News
Turkey PM: Syrian Kurds paying price for siding with Assad - Daily Sabah
Turkish intervention in Syria would be 'aggression': Damascus - Dunya News
Öcalan: Massacre in Kobani would end peace talks in Turkey - todayszaman.com
Turkish co-chairs on the way to Kobanê border - ANF
Turkish soldiers allegedly met IS gangs on Kobanê border last night - ANF
Turkey to bargain with US over no-fly zone - hurriyetdailynews.com
49 hostages swapped for 180 IS terrorists, report claims - todayszaman.com
New EU warns ‘new Turkey' for first time - todayszaman.com
Turkey: under pressure to take a definitive stance - European Council on Foreign Relations
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Islamic State beheads British hostage, names captured American as next - McClatchy DC
Biden blames US allies in Middle East for rise of IS - RT News
TRANSCRIPT: Remarks by the Vice President at the John F. Kennedy Forum - The White House
Obama team circles wagons as Panetta hits White House on Iraq, Syria and more - Fox News
Leon Panetta: Should have armed Syrian rebels sooner - CNN.com
Syria opposition head 'not satisfied' with coaltion support - Al-Monitor
Syrian Rebel Commanders Say US Airstrikes Bolster Assad - VOA
U.S., anti-Assad rebels at odds over Nusra’s role - The State
Syria: top FSA officers quit - Al Arabiya News
Why Does the Free Syrian Army Hate Us? - The Daily Beast
Pentagon "slush fund" pays for ISIS airstrikes, irking some in Congress - CBS News
Anti-IS Pentagon Operation Has New Website, but Still No Name - WSJ
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)
10 Myths About Obama's Latest War
By Reese Erlich
U.S. Navy/MC1 Trevor Welsh
Veteran foreign correspondent Reese Erlich was in northern Iraq at the start of the U.S. bombing campaign against Islamic State. He interviewed Kurdish leaders, peshmerga fighters and U.S. officials. He says the reality on the ground is far different from the propaganda coming out of Washington.
What laws of war? We do what we want!: Obama Admits US Bombing Attacks in Syria Pay Little Heed to Protecting Civilians
By Dave Lindorff
In a perverse way, maybe it's progress that the US is now admitting that it doesn't really care about how many civilians it kills in its efforts to "decapitate" a few suspected terrorist leaders.
Turkey/Syria News - Oct 2, 2014
CHP, HDP to vote against motion on military action in Iraq, Syria - todayszaman.com
VIDEO (Turkish): Erdogan Opening Speech at the Parliament of New Legislative Year - YouTube
US still cool to idea of buffer zone, no-fly zone in Syria - todayszaman.com
New hostage crisis for Turkey: Islamic State surrounds troops at Suleiman Shah shrine - McClatchy DC
Are Turkish troops trapped at Syrian tomb? - Al-Monitor
President Erdoğan denies claims IS encircled Suleiman Shah Tomb - Daily Sabah
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Kurds Don't Believe Turkey Wants To Fight The Islamic State - VICE News
Kurds Outraged as Turkey Closes Border to Volunteers for Kobane - Rudaw
PYD's Muslim appeals to West for weapons, criticizes Turkey - todayszaman.com
Demirtaş visits Kobani, urges Turkey to join Kurds' fight against IS - todayszaman.com
Turkish government plays with Kurdish fire - Al-Monitor
PACE: Turkey negligent towards IS recruitment in its borders - todayszaman.com
IS to open its first ‘consulate' in Istanbul? - AWDNews
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Airstrikes target IS militant advance on key Kurdish town Kobane - France 24
Airstrikes putting "a lot of pressure" on IS around Kobani: Pentagon - KUNA
White House exempts Syria airstrikes from tight standards on civilian deaths - Yahoo News
Here's How Much The War On IS Is Costing The US - Business Insider
VIDEO: US Air Strikes Over IS: NEW RAW FOOTAGE - YouTube
IS beheads 9 Kurdish fighters, including three women, captured in Syria - Fox News
Airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria stir anger among rebels - LA Times
FSA: No terror is comparable to Assad’s terror - Al-Monitor
36 activists executed in Raqqa by IS - الرقة تذبح بصمت on Twitter
IS warns of expansion into southern Syria ‘within days’ - The National
The Case Against Qatar - foreignpolicy.com
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)
Syria/Turkey News - Sep 30, 2014
Two civilians killed in missile strike on Kobanê - ANF
VIDEO: IS Shells Kobane with Katyusha Rockets - YouTube
VIDEO: Kurdish fighters and Free Syrian Army clash with IS at strategic Syrian border town - YouTube
Kurdish Kobanê commander: We have the initiative - ANF
Vigil for Kobane in the villages of Siwêdê and Boydê on the Turkey border - ANF
Protests against IS's Kobane siege continue across Turkey - todayszaman.com
Demonstrations in Europe and US for Kobane - Rudaw
US says will discuss help to Syrian Kurds - Kurdpress News Aganecy
IS Moves Forces to Syria from Northern Iraq - Rudaw
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VIDEO: Turkey stops Kurds from entering Syria to fight IS - BBC News
Turkish police and troops attack people keeping vigils for Kobane all along the border - ANF
3 protesters taken into custody by Turkey police in Ergani - ANF
IS Fighters Smuggled From Turkey Into Syria For Just £15 - sky.com
CHP deputy says can't find decree declaring IS a terrorist group - todayszaman.com
Turkey: Authoritarian Drift Threatens Rights - Human Rights Watch
REPORT (Full): Turkey’s Human Rights Rollback - Human Rights Watch
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VIDEO (Full): Obama CBS 60 Minutes interview - YouTube
U.S. Leads More Airstrikes Against IS In Iraq And Syria, Some Hit Around Kobane - WBUR & NPR
Activists cite civilian casualties as airstrikes heat up - usatoday.com
US/Syria: Investigate Possible Unlawful US Strikes - Human Rights Watch
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)
A Good End Date for the New War Is Today
What I've seen of public events, demonstrations, and protests of the latest U.S. war -- just like the larger and more immediately effective public resistance 12 months ago -- has been aimed, remarkably enough, at ending the war and opposing the policies of those engaging in it, and first among them the U.S. President.
What I've seen of inside-the-Beltway-style peace lobby groups' strategy has been aimed, predictably enough, at setting a good end date for the new war and barring the use of U.S. ground troops.
Both approaches are represented by voluminous discussions on listserves, so I feel like I know a good sample of each far more intimately than I might ideally wish. They parallel rejection and support of lesser-evil voting, and are largely made by those who reject and accept the importance of lesser-evil voting. However, many who accept lesser-evilism in the polling booth do not accept it here. And I think they have a point.
If you vote for a decent candidate and he or she loses, an argument can be made that you've "wasted" your vote. But if you advocate for an immediate end to a war, and a Congress that is hearing from the President that the war should last three years, bans continuation of the war beyond a year-and-a-half, then an argument can be made that you helped frame the compromise. In any case, it would be difficult to make a persuasive case that your activism was wasted. If, on the other hand, you found out that some Congress members were interested in a 1-year limit, and you lobbied for just that, and then Congress enacted a 2-year limit, what could you be said to have accomplished?
Here's my basic contention: Congress knows how to compromise. We don't have to pre-compromise for them. (How'd that work out on healthcare?) (How'd that ever work out?) And when we do pre-compromise for them (such as the time AFSCME banned "single-payer" signs from "public option" rallies, so as to simulate public demand for what "progressive" Congress members were pretending to already want) we give significant support and respectability to some serious outrages (such as privatized for-profit health insurance, but also such as bombing Iraq yet again and bombing the opposite side in Syria that was to be bombed a year ago and while arming that same side, which -- if we're honest about it -- is madness.
How many years of madness will be best, is an insane question. It's not a question around which to organize protests, demonstrations, nonviolent actions, lobbying, education, communication, or any other sort of movement building.
But isn't 2 years of war better than 3? And how are you going to get Congress members to limit it to 2 years if you've called them lunatics?
Of course 2 years is better than 3. But less than 2 is even better, and Congress is going to compromise as far as it dares, and knows perfectly well how to do so without help from us. Is there really evidence to imagine that Senators and Congress members shape their policies around who's most polite to them? Certainly they determine who's invited to meetings on Capitol Hill on that basis, but is being in those meetings our top priority? Does it do the most for us? And can't we still get some people into those meetings by calling mass murder "mass murder" while keeping open every opportunity for the funders and sanctioners of mass murder to oppose and stop it?
We need sit-ins in Congressional offices and protests on Capitol Hill. To a much lesser extent, we need discussions with Congress members and staffers. To the extent that different people must pursue those two tactics, the question will always remain whether mass public organizing should be guided by people who think like the former group or like the latter.
My position comes from the expectation that "support the troops" propaganda and the inevitably worsened situation after a year or two will make the struggle to then end a previously time-limited war harder, rather than easier -- easier only if the public has come to its sense in the meantime. My position comes from the fact that there are already U.S. troops in Iraq and the belief that we're going to get them home sooner if we don't play along with the pretense that they aren't there or aren't there for combat. My concern is for human life, and when you prioritize an air war over a ground war -- and when the "anti-war" movement does that -- you risk creating a great, rather than a smaller, number of deaths, albeit non-U.S. deaths.
Now, the lobbyists' need to be polite to Congress can be a helpful guide to all protesters. While moral condemnation and humorous mockery can be useful tools, so can Gandhian respect for those who must be won over. But the demand of a peace movement must be for peace and alternatives to war. When the missile strikes were stopped a year ago, the arming of ISIS-and-friends proceeded anyway, and no useful policy was pursued instead of the missiles. The U.S. had decided to do nothing, as if that were the only other option. Effectively we'd put an end date on the U.S. staying out, as doing nothing was guaranteed not to resolve the problem.
A good end-date for this war is today. A good date to begin useful aid and diplomacy and arms embargoes and reparations is tomorrow. We have to change the conversation to those topics, instead of focusing on the question of how much mass-murdering madness is the appropriate amount. Not because we want it to continue for eternity if it can't be ended now, but because it will end sooner and be less likely to be repeated if we confront it for what it is.
We've been so strategic over the past decade that everybody in the United States knows the war on Iraq cost U.S. lives and money, but most have only the vaguest idea of how it destroyed Iraq and how many people it killed. As a direct result, nobody knows where ISIS came from, and not enough people are fully aware of the high probability that the bombing will strengthen ISIS -- which may be why ISIS openly asks for it in its 1-hour film.
How much insanity should we demand on our posters and signs and online petitions and letters to editors: not another drop.
Freedom’s just another word: US Launches Wars and Backs Coups in the Name of Democracy, but Won’t Back Real Democracy Activists
By Dave Lindorff
The US claims to be supporting democracy from Ukraine to Cuba, and from Somalia to Iraq, often by bombing the alleged opposition, or by supporting proxy wars and subversion. But one place where real democracy activists are battling against the forces of repression they are curiously getting no backing from the United States: Hong Kong.
Syria News - Sep 28, 2014
In Syria, airstrikes carried out against Islamic State in battle for Kobane - The Washington Post
VIDEO: F 15E Strike on IS Compound near Kobane, Syria - YouTube
VIDEO: Hagel Answers CNN Jim Sciutto Question on Kobane - YouTube
Islamic State deployed all its Syrian forces around Kurdish Kobani town: YPG - ekurd
Interview with Syrian Kurdish YPG spokesperson - ekurd.net
200 Turkish intellectuals call for help to Kobane - hurriyetdailynews.com
The Defense of Kobani - Middle East Forum
Syria air strikes: US-led coalition attacks IS positions in Homs and Raqqa - The Independent
Syrian civilians in Raqqa cheer U.S. bombing - usatoday.com
VIDEO (Full): Hagel and Dempsey Brief Nation On IS Strikes - Neon Tommy
Iraq, Syria Conflicts to Require More Money, Hagel Says - Bloomberg
US Training Teams Arrive in Saudi Arabia - VOA
US launching complex operation to train, arm Syrian rebels amid airstrikes - Fox News
Rice meets Syrian opposition at White House - Yahoo News UK
VIDEO: Islamic State Member Warns of NYC Attack In Exclusive Interview - VICE News
How to Cut Off ISIS Terror Tycoons - The Daily Beast
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No-fly and safe zone, Turkey's priorities in Syria: Erdogan - turkishweekly.net
US denies Ankara’s demand to establish fly-zone over Syria - Kurdpress News Aganecy
Erdogan says Turkish troops could be used in Syria - Reuters
CHP leader: We don’t want Turkish soldiers in foreign lands - hurriyetdailynews
Hundreds of Kurds break through Turkey border to join anti-IS fight - AFP
VIDEO: Kurds clash with Turkish security forces at the border - euronews
PHOTOS: Hundreds of Kurds break through Turkey border to join anti-IS fight - Daily Mail
Turkish troops open fire on Kobanê border, allegedly 1 dead and 2 wounded - ANF
Turkish soldiers open fire on YPG vehicle - ANF
Wounded IS members taken to Kilis for treatment, in addition to Urfa and Antep - ANF
Allegation of a new shipment of weapons to IS on the Turkish border - ANF
Deputy prime minister denies claim Turkish aid agency backs IS - todayszaman.com
UN Security Council issues subtle warning to Turkey - Al-Monitor
This Site Tracks the Guns Going Into Syria - Defense One
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)
Parliament and Congress Have No Power to Legalize War
Congress has fled town to avoid voting for or against a new war. Many of the big donors to Congressional campaigns would want Yes votes. Many voters would want No votes, if not immediately, then as soon as the panic induced by the beheading videos wears off, which could be within the next month. Better to just avoid displeasing anyone -- other than people who notice you running away.
The standard for legal-ish cosmopolitan respectability in the U.S. now has become getting five kings and dictators to say their on your side as you start bombing a new country.
But the British Parliament is still at the level of believing an actual vote by a legislature is appropriate. Do Americans remember that their beloved founding fathers put war powers in the hands of the legislature because of the ugly history of royal wars in Britain? Times have changed.
But if we want to actually comply with the law, we have to admit that neither Parliament nor Congress has the power to legalize attacking Syria. This is because both the U.S. and the U.K. are parties to the United Nations Charter, which bans war with very narrow exceptions -- exceptions that have not been in any way met.
And if you want to get really serious about laws, the Kellogg-Briand Pact has never been repealed, the U.S. and U.K. are parties to it, and it bans all war without exception.
Now, you can interpret the Kellogg-Briand Pact to allow self-defense because the right to military self-defense, even when it's unlikely to actually work, is just so obvious to your way of thinking. And the U.N. Charter explicitly allows military self-defense. But here's the problem: There's nothing defensive about attacking Syria, and President Obama himself described it as "offense" in an interview with Chuck Todd on NBC.
Another word for "offense" is aggression, which the Nuremberg tribunal called "essentially an evil thing . . . the supreme international crime, differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole."
Asked about Congress's responsibilities on Tuesday, Senator Tim Kaine (D., Va.) claimed that presidents could fight defensive wars without Congress but needed Congressional authorizations for offensive ones. In fact, offensive wars are not legal by any common understanding. Asked, then, about international law, at an event at the Center for American Progress, Kaine reportedly said that bombing Syria, as distinct from Iraq, was "complicated" and that he was not sure "how they would do that, perhaps using principles of self-defense or defending Iraq against other threats. I think we'll find out more about what the administration says about that after the UN General Assembly," he said.
Only in America. Only the White House gets to invent legal rationale for blatant crimes, with the law makers and enforcers prepared to accept the rationale before they hear it.
Prior to the U.N. meeting, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power wrote to the U.N. arguing that it is legal for the United States to attack Syria because it is legal for Iraq to defend itself. By this logic, if Canada experienced a violent rebellion, it would be legal for China to attack the United States.
It's fun to pretend that the rule of law doesn't matter to you because you have all the weapons. It's fun to take two-month vacations from Washington. Just don't count on everyone voting you back next year.
Syria News - Sep 26, 2014
Kurds say they pushed back Islamic State in northern Syria - Reuters
Islamic State Would Tighten Its Rule in Eastern Syria by Capturing Kobane - Businessweek
VIDEO: The Islamic State use heavy weapons to kill Kurdish fighters in Syria - YouTube
VIDEO: Kurd refugees in Turkey return to Syria to fight IS group - usatoday.com
President Barzani: Peshmerga didn’t have a Way to Enter Kobani - BAS NEWS
Turkey party leaders going to Kobani border to support the Kurds - ANF
Who’s Fighting IS? Kurdish Forces in the Regional Conflict - Bipartisan Policy Center
Woman uses hidden camera to expose life in Raqqa under Islamic State (VIDEO) - CSMonitor.com
Militant in Syria beheading videos identified: FBI - Reuters
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Kurds see Turkey impeding Islamic State fight - AP
Turkey's Kurds Warn Ankara's Syria Policy Threatens Peace Process - VOA
Exclusive: PKK military commander threatens to resume war with Turkey - Al-Monitor
VIDEO: PYD Claims Erdogan Regime in Ankara is in Bed with Terrorist Groups in Syria - YouTube
VIDEO: Turkish tanks cross the border under IS flag, into areas held by the terrorist group - ANF
Turkey mulls security zone along Syria border - Al-Monitor
Turkey Prevents Humanitarian Aid From Iraqi Kurds Reaching Kobani - freerepublic.com
VIDEO: Kurdistan Regional Government sends 12 aid trucks to Kobani - CİHAN
VIDEO: Turkey’s President Erdogan statement at the U.N. - NYTimes.com
Obama calls President Erdoğan to discuss IS, Syria - Yahoo News
Turkey's possible role in anti-IS coalition dominates Erdoğan-Biden meeting - CİHAN
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VIDEO: Airstrikes Target IS Oil Refineries - DoDNEWS
Pentagon puts ISIS costs at $7M to $10M per day - TheHill
Pentagon: No evidence that airstrikes killed civilians despite reports - LA Times
U.S. Reassured Syria’s Assad in Back-Channel Message - Bloomberg
Assad exploits airstrikes to sweep through 40 villages - The Times
Syrian government says it's retaken key city Adra near Damascus - LA Times
Syrian rebel groups unite to fight IS, say the strikes must also hit Assad's forces - CNN.com
Syria: Suqur al-Sham of the Islamic Front condemns U.S. airstrikes - Aymenn J Al-Tamimi on Twitter
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)
St. Petersburg FLA Protest: Say No To War In Syria!
St. Pete for Peace
St. Petersburg, FL – Activists from the Tampa Bay area will protest the new US war in Syria this Saturday, September 27 from 2:00-4:00pm at the corners of Dale Mabry Highway and Gandy Blvd in Tampa. The protest location was chosen due to its proximity to MacDill Air Force Base, which acts as Central Command for the war in Syria.
US airstrikes in Syria have already killed innocent civilians. In its first day of launching bombs, the US killed 8 civilians, including children in Aleppo province, and 5 more civilians were killed on Wednesday.
"ISIS, which formed in response to the US invasion of Iraq, exists because of US military interventions. For the US to say it is trying to solve the problem it created is duplicitous," said Dwight Lawton of Veterans for Peace.
"The US attack is happening without the approval of the Syrian government which is a violation of Syria's sovereignty and is against international law," according to Marianne Huber of St. Pete for Peace. "There is no doubt that the Assad government in Syria will ultimately be a target of US airstrikes in the near future."
"For over 20 years the US has relentlessly bombed Iraq and now it is bombing Syria -- two countries that have never attacked the United States," said Jared Hamil of Students for a Democratic Society at USF. "The US has used money, guns, bombings, occupations, economic sanctions and puppet-governments to control the peoples of the world. None of these things have resulted in peace or have brought humanitarian aid to anyone - only violence and instability."
The protest is sponsored by St. Pete for Peace, Students for a Democratic Society at USF, Friends of Human Rights, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Florida State Progressive Democrats of America, NatureCoast Coalition for Peace and Justice, The Refuge, Students for a Democratic Society St Pete, Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, and the Revolutionary Caucus of Tampa Bay.
Webpage: http://stpeteforpeace.org/
Syria News - Sep 24, 2014
Exclusive: United States defends the legality of Syria airstrikes in letter to U.N. chief - Reuters
Text of Samantha Power' letter to UN chief saying strikes in Syria are legal - NYTimes.com
UN chief welcomes airstrikes in Syria - Yahoo News
VIDEO: President Obama Delivers a Statement on Airstrikes in Syria - YouTube
Obama thanks Arab nations for joining Syria strikes - Yahoo News
Arab coalition behind Syria strikes is diplomatic coup - usatoday
Syrian rebels angry that strikes hit al Qaida ally but not Assad - McClatchy DC
Exclusive: U.S. told Iran of intent to strike Islamic State in Syria - Reuters
Hezbollah leader opposes U.S.-led action in Syria - Yahoo News
Russia: airstrikes must be agreed with Syria or will fuel tension - Yahoo News
Again Erdogan asks UN for no-fly zone over Syria - yenisafak.com
Britain close to joining U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State - Reuters
France not to join U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State in Syria - Reuters
Japan sides with U.S. over airstrikes in Syria, Kishida tells Kerry - The Japan Times
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U.S. hit 8 bases tied to al Qaida affiliate in Syria, 14 belonging to Islamic State - McClatchy DC
VIDEO: Pentagon Briefing on Airstrikes in Syria - Bloomberg
MAP: Map of Airstrikes in Syria - Juliane Meyer on Twitter
These Are the Weapons the U.S. Is Using to Attack IS - TIME
VIDEO: Analyzing CENTCOM Gunsight Videos of the Precision Targeted Airstrikes in Syria - ABC News
VIDEO: US Navy launches Tomahawk missile strikes on IS targets - U.S. Navy on Twitter
US should bomb IS positions on the Kobani front: YPG - The Kurdistan Tribune
Revealed: the Islamic State 'cabinet', from finance minister to suicide bomb deployer - Telegraph
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)
Behind the Beheadings: Turning History on its Head
By Gar Smith
When the Islamic State (IS) released a sickening video purporting to show the beheading of American journalist James Foley, a militant chorus of neocon voices thundered: "It's an act of war!" On Fox News' "The Kelly File," Charles Krautheimer excoriated Attorney General Eric Holder for announcing the Department of Justice planned to investigate the murder as a criminal case. "Acts of terror," Krautheimer erupted, are not criminal acts. "They are acts of war!"
This could be open to debate. Under 18 U.S. Code § 2331 the term "act of war" means "any act occurring in the course of (A) declared war; (B) armed conflict, whether or not war has been declared, between two or more nations; or (C) armed conflict between military forces of any origin."
An "act of war" generally requires two or more national, sovereign belligerents. While an attack by a group of dissident insurgents may constitute an act of rebellion, it may not constitute an act of war.
Interestingly, if Washington were to "declare war" on the Islamic State, that might serve to grant diplomatic status to the Islamic forces and thereby acknowledge their claim to having established an "Islamic Caliphate." There would seem to be a moral argument for intervening against IS, a militant force that routinely executes captured soldiers, murders "infidels" and also has reportedly beheaded children. But there is a strategic caveat: Does bringing force to bear guarantee less violence or greater violence? In short: Is the cure to war, more war?
An Act of War or an Act of Revenge?
But there is a more fundamental flaw behind the "act of war" cry.
What happened to James Foley—and subsequently to fellow American Steven Soltoff and British citizen David Haines—was not an act of war but an act of retaliation.
President Barack Obama understood there was a quick and clear path to avoiding the death of James Foley and the threats to ISIS' other US and UK hostages: Simply call a halt to the US' punishing aerial campaign. And the president clearly understood the consequences of continuing to wage a war against ISIS targets: If US attacks continued, American hostages would most likely die.
Barack Obama and his advisors chose the path that they knew would result in the deaths of US hostages. And each time a hostage was brutally murdered, the White House invoked the name of the dead American to help fuel the passion for resuming and expanding a new US military adventure in Iraq.
The timeline (though subsequently muddled by the US media) is clear: The barbaric beheadings, shocking as they were, followed a series of US aerial attacks on ISIS ground forces that killed scores of Islamic fighters and, inevitably, a number of adjacent civilians.
And the use of the term "barbaric" deserves some attention. Certainly, the use of a knife blade to commit a beheading is "barbaric" but is it any less barbaric than blowing someone to pieces with a Hellfire missile? A beheading is a surgical operation with limited impact committed by an individual who is personally accountable and can be held criminally responsible for the act. The use of a Hellfire missile tears entire bodies into heaps of bloody, (Collateral Damage) or breaking into song (see video).
First the Bombs, Then the Beheadings
The IS beheadings did not occur in a vacuum. They were acts of revenge triggered in response to American military attacks. It was America that committed the first "act of war" when it launched an aerial assault inside Iraq on August 8. On that date, US Navy McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighters flew into Iraq and bombed Islamic State artillery units and destroyed an Islamic State military convoy.
Still much of the American media has trumpeted the false narrative that ISIS—in the form of a masked murderer with a British accent—was the aggressor. On September 18, the San Francisco Chronicle's Washington bureau correspondent Carolyn Lochhead reported: "Obama had resisted intervening until the Islamic State group beheaded two American journalists and captured several Iraqi cities."
This was a patent falsehood. But it was a widely disseminated falsehood. Still, the cause-and-effect relationship remains: The US began bombing Islamic rebel forces in early August. It was not until 12 days later that ISIS executed James Foley.
On August 12, ISIS sent Foley's parents an emailed warning that their son would be executed in retaliation for US airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq. The email read, in part:
We have left you [the USA] alone since your disgraceful defeat in Iraq. We did not interfere in your country or attack your citizens while they were safe in their homes despite our capability to do so! You were given many chances to negotiate the release of your people via cash transactions as other governments have accepted. We have also offered prisoner exchanges to free the Muslims currently in your detention like our sister Dr. Afi Sidiqqi, however you proved very quickly to us that this is NOT what you are interested in.You have no motivation to deal with the Muslims except with the language of force….
Now you return to bomb the Muslims of Iraq once again, this time resorting to Arial [sic] attacks and "proxy armies", all the while cowardly shying away from a face-to-face confrontation! You do not spare our weak, elderly, women or children so we will NOT spare yours!
You and your citizens will pay the price of your bombings!
The first of which being the blood of the American citizen, James Foley!
He will be executed as a DIRECT result of your transgressions towards us!
In the video of James Foley's execution, the ISIS spokesman specifically ties the commencement of US bombing attacks to Foley's fate:
Today, your military air force is attacking us daily in Iraq. Your strikes have caused casualties amongst Muslims. You're no longer fighting an insurgency, we are an Islamic army and a State that has been accepted by a large number of Muslims worldwide, so effectively, any aggression towards the Islamic State is an aggression towards Muslims from all walks of life who have accepted the Islamic Caliphate as their leadership.
So any attempt by you, Obama, to deny the Muslims their rights of living in safety under the Islamic Caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people."
James Foley's final statement (a prepared statement that may or may not have represented Foley's actual thoughts) reinforced the point that his fate was an outcome of renewed US bombing in Iraq, stated that the US decision to launch bombing raids on ISIS was the "last nail in my coffin":
I call on my friends, family, and loved to rise up against my real killers, the U.S. government, for what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency criminality…. I wish I had more time. I wish I could have the hope for freedom to see my family once again, but that ship has sailed. I guess all in all, I wish I wasn't an American. [Read the complete statement below.]
The Beheading Was Not Shown
Another surprising media misstatement involved the videos themselves. The US media—from TIME Magazine, The New York Times and The Washington Post on down—routinely and repeatedly claimed that the IS videos "showed the beheading" of hostages. (In fact, the actual act of the beheading was deleted. See details below.) With this excuse in hand, the videos were scrubbed from the Internet—along with the videotaped final statements of the victims and the anti-US commentary of the IS executioner. (Many people refused to view the videos because they believed they depicted a gruesome "beheading.")
The response of the media/government complex was schizophrenic. On one had the government claimed the videos provided justification US retaliation. On the other hand, government pressure made it impossible for the American public to assess the criticisms of US global military policies that were cited as justification for the killings. The critical political content was the major reason the videos were released in the first place. The beheadings were simply a barbaric tool in the IS public relations tool kit. Government pressure to promote the videos as propaganda tool while denying the public an opportunity to watch and judge the content. In the UK, ABC reported, merely watching the James Foley video could expose viewers to a terrorism charge. At the same time, Twitter and Facebook were tracking down everyone who posted the video and were deleting their accounts.
Those who did watch the videos before they were purged from the Internet, expressed surprise. Popular Resistance, writing on TopInfoPost noted:
The most interesting thing about the video is that despite the hype in the media, there was no actual beheading in the video. The TIME article headline was not an accurate description of the video. There was a dead body that was, as many in the media have said, 'purportedly' a beheaded James Foley, but the actual act of beheading is not shown. The video does show someone purportedly using a knife to saw at Foley's neck, but there is no blood and seems to be no actual cut.
We have seen the videos out of Syria, which are truly atrocious, or the video of the beheading of Daniel Pearl a journalist killed by Al-Qaeda, but unlike those there was a strange absence of blood in this video. The supposed killer just puts the knife to Foley's neck, saws back and forth for a few moments and no blood comes out. Then it cuts to a shot of a severed head over a dead body.
Why didn't the most brutal terrorist group, according to western media, show the actually bloody murder to get the full terrorizingeffect? And why hadn't the lack of that scene been a crucial part of the media's coverage?
Are Beheadings Not 'Barbaric' When Done by Allies?
In a September 17 interview on Democracy Now! Phyllis Bennis elaborated on an article she had published in The Nation in which she pointed out that acts of criminal brutality were happening on both sides of the Syrian/Iraq conflict.
According to Bennis, "The New York Times was the only mainstream media outlet that reported … that the Free Syrian Army—the so-called moderate part of the Syrian rebels, who the US wants now to increase aid and military support and training and arming—that the Free Syrian Army had itself beheaded six captives. Six prisoners that they had control of, they beheaded them, right after shooting to death -- right after the shooting death of an American who had been caught by ISIS."
(Barak Barfi, a spokesperson for Steven Sotloff's family, raised another inconvenient truth that was not widely reported. Barfi pointed out that the so-called "moderate" Syrian rebels that Washington has chosen to support were the same ones that first captured, then sold Steven Sotloff to ISIS.)
Human rights organizations have also expressed concern over the number of beheadings by officials in Saudi Arabia. During the first three weeks of August, Saudi executioners decapitated more than one prisoner per day. On August 18, four family members were beheaded for smuggling marijuana. A day later, another Saudi was beheaded for committing an act of "sorcery." In the first seven months of 2014, the Saudis beheaded 41 victims. No one in the US government condemned (let alone mentioned) these apparently "acceptable" beheadings.
And it is not just our Allies that commit acts of barbarism. America itself is also culpable.
The President Invokes Victim's Names to Justify War
Speaking from The Edgartown School in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts on August 20, President Obama somberly declared: "Today, the entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of Jim Foley by the terrorist group, ISIL." The president then went on tooffer the following characterization of ISIS: "They have rampaged across cities and villages -- killing innocent, unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence. They abduct women and children, and subject them to torture and rape and slavery." (Worth noting: nearly every one of these crimes also has been ascribed to US forces during American assaults on Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.)
Speaking from Estonia after ISIS made good on its promise to execute reporter Steven Sotloff, President Obama condemned ISIS and insisted "Their horrific acts only unite us as a country and stiffen our resolve to take the fight against these terrorists." And then, the Commander-in-Chief used the occasion to further ramp up the rhetoric of war:
It's not only that we're going to be bringing to justice those who perpetrated this terrible crime against these two fine young men. The United States will continue to lead a regional and international effort against the kind of barbaric and ultimately empty vision. Our objective is clear, and that is: degrade and destroy ISIL so that it's no longer a threat, not just to Iraq but also to the region and to the United States.
Looking at the timing, the lost opportunities and the rhetorical escalation, one comes away with an apprehension that this president (like many presidents before him) had engineered a casus belli—allowing the sacrifice of innocent American lives to provide an excuse for war that would outrage and galvanize the American public against the latest "barbaric enemy" to threaten the world.
Look Who's Funding ISIS: Some of our Closest Allies
In her Democracy Now! interview, Phyllis Bennis tried to draw attention to the bloody hands behind ISIS's rampage across the border from Syria into Iraq. According to Bennis:
Saudi Arabia is the source of the largest amount of money, from what all the reports are indicating, that is going to ISIS as well as a host of other Islamist and other organizations…. Some of it probably comes from the government, although that's never been confirmed. But this is a very tightly controlled society where, if there was an interest by the government in stopping its own citizens—whether they are Saudi princes or ordinary citizens, who are the source of a huge amount of the money funding these organizations, including ISIS—it could be contained.
Bennis concluded by pointing out the close military ties between Washington and Riyadh:
The Saudis don't want to talk about that alliance with the United States. But there is $60 billion worth of arms that they've been engaged in buying from the United States over this last two years. Many of those arms are the ones ending up in the hands of ISIS. It's US arms and it's Saudi arms that are ending up there.
Whether it's individuals or whether it's part of the government, that money is coming to a large degree from Saudi Arabia, from other parts of the region, as well—from Qatar, from Kuwait, from UAE, from a number of countries—but Saudi Arabia is very much at the center of this.
And the US-Saudi alliance is such that if the US chose to challenge the arms sellers in this country, who are making a killing on this new war, this Iraq War 3.0, we might say—if they were to prepared to challenge those arms suppliers, and thus challenge the Saudi government, there could be a real effort to put a stop to the funding and arming of these terrible organizations like ISIS.
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Lost Testimony in the War of Words
After the IS hostage videos were falsely described as containing actual footage of beheadings, they were quickly removed from online viewing. This act of censorship prevented much of the public from hearing the full statements of the victims and the executioner contained in the videos. The brutality of the IS executions cannot be fully understood without listening to the justifications offered by the killers. Here are transcripts of the complete statements contained in three IS execution videos.
Transcript of Video: The Final Words
Of US Hostage and Journalist James Foley
I call on my friends, family, and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the U.S. government, for what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency criminality.
My message to my beloved parents: Save me some dignity and don't accept any meager compensation for my death from the same people who effectively hit the last nail in my coffin with the recent aerial campaign in Iraq.
I call on my brother John who is a member of the U.S. Air Force: Think about what you are doing. Think about the lives you destroy, including those of your own family. I call on you, John, think about who made the decision to bomb Iraq recently and kill those people, whoever they may have been. Think John, who did they really kill? Did they think about me, your and our family when they
made that decision? I died that day, John. When your colleagues dropped that bomb on those people they signed my death certificate.
I wish I had more time. I wish I could have the hope for freedom to see my family once again, but that ship has sailed. I guess all in all, I wish I wasn't an American.
Transcript of Video: The Final Words
Of US Hostage and Journalist Steven Sotloff
I am Steven Joel Sotloff.
I'm sure you know exactly who I am by now, and why I am appearing before you.
And now it is time for my message.
Obama, your foreign policy of intervention in Iraq was supposed to be for the preservation of American lives and interests, so why is it that I'm having to pay the price of your interference with my life.
Am I not an American citizen?
You've spent billions of US taxpayers dollars and we've lost thousands of our troops in our previous fighting against the Islamic State.
So where is the American people's interests in reigniting this war?
From what little I know about foreign policy I remember a time when you could not win an election without promising to bring our troops back home from Iraq, from Afghanistan, and to close down Guantanamo.
Here you are now Obama, nearing the end of your term, having achieved none of the above, and seemingly marching us, the American people, into a blazing fire.
The man who appears to wield the knife seems to have a British accent that has been disguised. His statement suggests he is the same fighter who killed James Foley last month. Below is a transcript of what he says:
I'm back Obama. And I'm back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards Islamic State, because of your insistence in continuing your bombings in Amerli, Samarra and Mosul Dam despite our serious warnings. You, Obama, have yet again through your actions, killed yet another American citizen. So just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people.
Transcript of Video: The Final Words
Of UK Hostage David Haines
My name is David Cawthorne Haines. I would like to declare that I hold you David Cameron entirely responsible for my execution. You entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States against the Islamic State just as your predecessor Tony Blair did following a trend amongst our British Prime Minsters who can't find the courage to say no to the Americans. Unfortunately, it is we, the British public, who will pay the price for our parliament's selfish decisions."
The man the Western media has nicknamed "Jihadi John" then says:
This British man has to the pay the price for your promise Cameron to arm the Peshmerga against the Islamic State. Ironically, he has spent a decade of his life serving under the same Royal Air Force that is responsible for delivering those arms.
Your evil alliance with America, which continues to strike the Muslims of Iraq and most recently bombed the Haditha Dam, will only accelerate your destruction. And playing the role of the obedient lapdog, Cameron, will only drag you and your people into another bloody and unwinable war."
The footage then shows another British hostage paraded before the camera. Jihadi John says:
If you, Cameron, persist in fighting the Islamic State then you like your master Obama, will have the blood of your people on your hands."
ISIS, Weapons Makers, Thugs Benefit from This Crime
President Obama is bombing the opposite side in Syria from the side he swore we needed to attack one year ago, and those pleased by this declare that he is "doing something."
U.S. polls suggest that the same people recognize that this something will make the U.S. more likely to be attacked and nonetheless favor this action. This is unthinking fear produced by slick beheading videos for audiences too distracted to notice that the Iraqi government, Saudi government and numerous other U.S. friends and allies behead. And are we to imagine that when Obama kills a 16 year old American and the 6 kids near him his head remains intact? Should we pretend that the people being killed by U.S. missiles right now aren't losing their heads?
This action is illegal under the UN Charter, Kellogg-Briand Pact, and U.S. Constitution. This action is immoral as it fuels violence that needs to be reduced. This action is knowingly, maddeningly counterproductive, guaranteed to build hostility to the United States, which is already so hated that ISIS openly advocates for a U.S. attack on it. This action by this White House is what ISIS wants and what weapons makers want. It is not what the people of Syria or Iraq or the world want. It further shreds the rule of law while dumping gasoline on a fire of U.S. creation.
What's needed is, contrary to what your television suggests, not to "do nothing" or love beheadings. What's needed is an arms embargo. The U.S. ships 79% of the weapons shipped to the Middle East, not counting the weapons of the U.S. military. An arms embargo could be 79% successful with just one country participating, and others could certainly be brought to do so.
What's needed is actual aid on a massive scale, restitution to the people of the region for the crimes of the U.S. government. An aid program sufficient to make the United States beloved rather than hated would cost a lot less money than the missiles and bombs for which price seems to be no concern at all.
What's needed is diplomacy. The U.S. government is happy to talk with Syria or Iran or Russia when the object is war. Why can it not talk to them when the object is peace?
Our Constitutional scholar Nobel peace laureate no-dumb-wars end-the-mindset president will be protested today at the White House and at his appearance in New York, and should be protested everywhere he goes.
Congress members should not know a moment's peace, but should be taught that cowardice is not a campaign strategy. None who voted for weapons to Syria should be returned to Washington next year.
War as a first resort, as our biggest public program, as the be all and end all of U.S. foreign policy is a form of insanity that has no redeeming feature. War is our top destroyer of the natural environment, of the economy, of civil liberties, of self-governance, and of morality. This is a case of a doctor trying to cure the world while suffering from a deadly and highly infectious disease that in his own mind is the epitome of health.
You can't cure war fever with more war. You can only get to peace through peace.
Stop the bombing.
Syria/Iraq News - Sep 23, 2014
Syrian opposition urges airstrikes against Islamic State - THE DAILY STAR
130,000 Syrian refugees fleeing Islamic State seek refuge in Turkey - Fox News
VIDEO: Islamic State advance in Syria sparks 'refugee wave' in Turkey - YouTube
Öcalan calls for mass mobilisation against Islamic State’s attacks - ANF
PYD leader: "Kobane will only fall if everyone there is killed!” - Kurdish Question
As masses seek refuge in Turkey, Kurdish fighters rush back to Syria - CSMonitor.com
VIDEO: Hundreds of Kurds crossing Turkish border, going back to defend Kobane - YouTube
VIDEO: More PKK units arrive in Kobane - YouTube
Syrian Kurds say they halted Islamic State advance near Kobane - The Guardian
Thousands protest IS's Kobane siege in Istanbul, show solidarity with Kurds - todayszaman.com
VIDEO: Thousands protest IS's Kobane siege in Istanbul, show solidarity with Kurds - CİHAN
Kurdish solidarity protest in front of United Nations to draw attention to the attacks by IS - ANF
Kurdish MPs from Turkey in Hunger Strike at UN for Kobane - Rudaw
EU Politicians Appeal for Military Aid to Syrian Kurds - Rudaw
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Turkey Bars Kurds From Entering Syria to Fight Islamic State - Bloomberg
People allegedly shot with live ammunition at Kobanê border - ANF
Islamic State: 'Turkey has indirectly recognised the Islamic State’ - ANF
Islamic State: 'Turkey fed us' - turkafile.com
Turkish nurse says she's tired of treating IS terrorists - LiveLeak.com
Is Turkey A Reliable Partner In The Fight Against ISIS? - THE ISIS STUDY GROUP
CIA stops spying on friendly nations in Europe, except Turkey - todayszaman.com
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Islamic State spokesman al Adnani threatens the anti-IS coalition in new speech - Threat Matrix
VIDEO (Arabic): Islamic State Spoksman al Adnani Sends a Message to the World - YouTube
TRANSCRIPT (English): Islamic State spokesman' new speech - ia601400.us.archive.org
IS Allegedly Kills 300 Iraqi Troops with Chlorine Gas - teleSUR
Iraq said to foil Islamic State chemical attack - The Times of Israel
14 IS militants killed as their chlorine gas rocket explodes - Business Standard News
Disguised Islamic State militants kill 40 Iraqi troops, capture scores - AP
Oil-rich Kirkuk in Iraq's north fears attack by Islamic State - LA Times
US airstrikes in Iraq expand to Kirkuk area - Threat Matrix
VIDEO: IS recruiting children to join its force - Al Jazeera
PHOTO: Post is very disturbing !!! Pic shows IS making CHILDREN behead people - LiveLeak.com
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle_at_gmail.com (replacing _at_ with @)
Stop the Bombing: Bravery in an Evil Cause Is Evil
By David Swanson
There will be a protest of the new war at 10 a.m. Tuesday in front of the White House. Some thoughts on the context of this latest decision to bomb yet another country are below.
Following a screening of Phil Donahue's film Body of War in Washington, D.C., on Monday, during which the United States began illegally bombing Syria, Donahue engaged in an interesting exchange with one of those audience members who asks a question and a dozen follow-up questions.
Donahue had belittled drone pilots as sitting at desks with cups of coffee. This member of the audience shouted out that that was unfair, that drone pilots were often engaged in perfectly legitimate murders, and that drone pilots were serving their country just the same as the U.S. Army veteran who is the focus of the film.
The film and its director treat this Army veteran as having honorably served a worthy cause even while describing the war as unjustified and a horrible decision. So, if a ground troop in an immoral illegal war is to be thanked and honored, not just respected and sympathized with, why not thank and honor drone pilots?
Donahue's response to this sort of logic was that the drone pilot is less brave.
At the end of an exchange on that theme, Donahue reached a conclusion that ranked various types of troops based on their levels of bravery, and possibly also of suffering. That last point ran into trouble, as the questioner pointed out the PTSD rates among drone pilots who do in fact sometimes see their victims more than do troops who are physically closer to the action.
But bravery remained standing at the end of the discussion as a contributor to the level of morality.
In my view, this is madness, as Bill Maher lost his job for pointing out. Nobody was braver or more immoral than the 911 terrorists. Bravery in a good cause is admirable. Bravery in an indifferent cause is aesthetically nice, but morally indifferent. And bravery in an evil cause is evil. I made this case to Donahue after the event, and he said that he actually agreed with me.
The idea that bravery redeems participation in evil is war-thinking. Participation in evil can be understood and sympathized with but not redeemed.
Another audience member on Monday evening pointed out something useful about U.S. polling: Americans believe that bombing Syria will make attacks on the United States more likely (indeed, experts agree and history seems to solidly confirm it) and at the very same time, Americans believe that Syria should be bombed.
A willingness to endanger one's self and family and neighbors and millions of people in order to be tough is an irrational and apparently macho position.
This culture of machismo is not without humanity, but that humanity is horribly misinformed. We're not told by the big corporate media about the 95% of deaths in U.S. wars that are the deaths of non-Americans.
The brilliant Peter Kuznick pointed out at Monday's event that as states require women to watch movies about fetuses before having abortions, they could require people to watch Body of War before wars. I wish they would. It's a powerful movie. But there's been no Ludlow Amendment and people don't get to vote on wars. And we're now being sold a war on the claim that it won't kill Americans. If we don't acquire the knowledge that wars also kill non-Americans and that non-Americans matter, we'll be susceptible to manipulation into the idea that a war is a character choice, a matter of expressing and demonstrating bravery.
Following discussion of the film on Monday, we heard stories of bravery in noble causes from five whistleblowers who had put their lives and welfare at risk to advance peace, justice, public safety, the rule of law, and honest government. Their names are Jesselyn Radack, Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, Thomas Drake, William Binney, and Kirk Wiebe. They talked about morality, not machismo. Here's video of them in Baltimore on Sunday.
A sixth speaker on the topic of speaking out was Phil Donahue, who lost his job at MSNBC for dissenting from war fever in 2003. He heartily denounced the dishonesty and sycophancy of corporate media on Monday. He also came back to the topic of bravery, rightly pointing to the five panelists next to him as the highest examples of moral courage.
Now there's a useful phrase:moral courage. Let's celebrate only that kind.
I spoke at an event Monday morning at American U. at which I asked people to raise their hands if they thought war was good for us and character building, or if they thought some wars were necessary, or if they thought all war was unjustified. The crowd was roughly evenly split between the last two choices. Not a single person accepted the notion (popular 100 years back) that war is good for us. But this unscientific poll was conducted in a room of peace studies students and opponents of war. What would the whole U.S. public say?
After the event I spoke with Medea Benjamin about the just-begun bombing campaign, and she remarked, "This is exactly what ISIL wants. They're trying to get the U.S. involved in a war. There are already U.S. troops in combat and this will mean more. We shouldn't fall into the trap of another immoral and unwinnable war."
Medea and I will be protesting this new war at 10 a.m. on Tuesday in front of the White House along with National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance. We encourage you to join us or to demonstrate locally. Your Congress members and Senators have fled Washington in order to pretend the blood is not on their hands. Take your message of peace to them where they can be found.
