World Affairs

Afghanistan bases

2012-02-13T08:50:00.000Z

Nick Turse on military bases construction in Afghanistan.

Syria Arab Spring

2012-02-08T07:54:00.000Z

Seumas Milne on the Arab Spring in Syria.

Achcar Arab Spring

2012-02-06T21:18:00.000Z

Gilbert Achcar on the Arab Spring.

Mexico drug war

2012-02-05T10:11:00.003Z

A few good facts from this article on the war on drugs in Mexico:

A high-ranking Mexican official told The Washington Times that “strategic law enforcement and intelligence collaboration — bilateral, regional and global — between the U.S. and Mexico has advanced at an unprecedented rate since Calderon took office.”

“A lot of policymakers in Washington would be concerned to see that evaporate,” regardless of who wins the upcoming election, the Mexican official said.

The U.S. support, however, represents a fraction of the estimated $45 billion Mexico has spent on the war under Mr. Calderon, whose administration bankrolled a top-secret $100 million underground bunker and has deployed 45,000 army troops across 18 Mexican states since taking office in 2006.

The crackdown appears to have helped stem the flow of U.S.-bound cocaine. Total cocaine seizures in the U.S. dropped from 201 metric tons in 2005 to 109 metric tons in 2009, suggesting that “the availability of cocaine in the United States has stabilized at a reduced level,” according to the United Nations’ 2011 World Drug Report.

While the same period saw violence soar in Mexico, the report cited a drop in Mexican cocaine seizures from 48 metric tons in 2007 to 22 metric tons in 2009.

Arab spring

2012-01-28T09:29:00.000Z

Esam Al-Amin on Tunisia and Egypt one year on. Arab Spring.

Iran

2012-01-28T09:26:00.000Z

A number of liberal hawks are opposed to war on Iran.

LBO crisis

2012-01-26T22:44:00.001Z

Doug Henwood of LBO on the crisis.

Iran oil EU

2012-01-24T22:49:00.001Z

Articles on the EU's oil embargo on Iran here and here.

Keller Iran

2012-01-23T21:01:00.001Z

NYT's Keller on the bomb Iran views.

Apple

2012-01-21T22:20:00.001Z

Article about innovation and outsourcing by Apple and Steve Jobs.

China economic crisis

2012-01-18T08:23:00.001Z

Seumas Milne on how China deals with the economic crisis.

Arab Spring

2012-01-16T22:36:00.001Z

Gilbert Achcar surveys the Arab Spring so far.

Cocaine

2012-01-15T10:40:00.001Z

The Wall Street Journal on cocaine, Colombia, Bolivia, etc. and the war on drugs.

Jundallah

2012-01-14T09:55:00.001Z

Article about Jundallah, saying that it was the Israeli Mossad that was behind their support, passing themselves as US and CIA agents.

Guantanamo

2012-01-11T09:15:00.001Z

Excellent article on Guantanamo and how the US came to occupy it.

David Bacon Mexico Migration NAFTA

2012-01-10T22:54:00.001Z

Excellent article on NAFTA, Mexican migration to the US and lax environmental standards in Mexico that allow US companies to set foot there with fewer constraints.

Glenn Greenwald on Arab Spring

2012-01-05T10:26:00.001Z

Glenn Greenwald on the Arab Spring and why the US is opposed to democracy in the Middle East.

Health care

2012-01-03T20:42:00.001Z

Weisbrot on Obama's health care reforms.

Fannie and Freddie

2011-12-24T09:45:00.001Z

Another article from NYT on Fannie and Freddie.

Fannie nad Freddie

2011-12-20T10:53:00.001Z

Were Fannie and Freddie at the source of the subprime mess?

Western intervention in Middle East

2011-12-20T10:15:00.001Z

Great article with videos by Seumas Milne on the history of Western intervention in the Middle East.

Egypt

2011-12-19T09:38:00.001Z

Developments in Egypt.

Latvia

2011-12-16T11:18:00.001Z

Mark Weisbrot on Latvia.

US military bases around Iran

2011-12-12T09:36:00.001Z

Good map of US military bases surrounding Iran.

US authorized teaqr gas to Egypt during protests

2011-12-08T07:21:00.002Z

The US government authorized shipments of tear gas to Egypt during the Arab Spring protests.

Iran war on drugs

2011-12-06T09:39:00.002Z

Article saying Iran's war on drugs has worsened in harshness with Ahmadinejad. See also this other one.

Crisis foreclosures Fed help to banks

2011-12-05T13:03:00.001Z

Nicholas Kristof writes about the Fed's help to banks and foreclosures.

DEA drug money laundering Mexico

2011-12-05T09:22:00.003Z

DEA agents launder drug money from Mexico to try to gets leads on the traffickers.

NWFZ

2011-12-02T15:40:00.000Z

Israeli Jews are in favor of a NWFZ at 65%, including Israel and Iran.

Palestine Partition

2011-11-28T09:35:00.001Z

Article on the 1947 Partition of Palestine by Uri Avnery.

Student protests Occupy Ohio

2011-11-23T07:56:00.001Z

Article on student protests at UCD Davis and pepper spray; and on how the Occupy movement has helped in this victory of Ohio workers.

China bubble

2011-11-22T16:11:00.001Z

Article on China, its housing bubble, and the currency debate with the US.

Italy euro crisis

2011-11-18T23:12:00.001Z

Article from the WSJ on Italy and how policies related to joining the Euro hurt economic performance.

Iran nuclear

2011-11-10T09:36:00.001Z

A NYT editorial that offers some propaganda against Iran based on the latest IAEA report on the nuclear situation in Iran.

HRW Mexico drugs

2011-11-10T09:20:00.001Z

Latest HRW report on Mexico and drugs.

Iran nuclear

2011-11-10T09:18:00.001Z

Excellent article by Sahimi on the latest nuclear report by the IAEA on Iran.

DEA drugs

2011-11-07T08:24:00.001Z

Article on the DEA and drug and the drug war.

Japan nuclear bomb

2011-10-28T12:28:00.001+01:00

An argument for Japan to keep its civilian nuclear energy is to have a latent capacity to make nuclear bombs.

Greece profligacy

2011-10-24T23:14:00.001+01:00

Article on Greece exploring the myth of profligacy.

Argentina

2011-10-23T09:27:00.000+01:00

Weisbrot on Argentina's economic recovery and links to other articles.

Awlaki killed

2011-10-01T11:08:00.000+01:00

See Glenn Greenwald on the killing of Awlaki.

Afghan budget paid by US and NATO

2011-09-23T08:29:00.001+01:00

About 90% of the Afghan government budget has been paid for by the US and NATO over the last 5 years, according to a new GAO report.

Suicide debt crisis greece

2011-09-20T11:11:00.001+01:00

Good article on increases in suicide in Greece and Europe due to the debt crisis.

Arab spring

2011-09-18T18:16:00.001+01:00

Good article on the current challenges facing the "new" regimes in power in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, etc.

Latvia economic crisis

2011-09-17T09:59:00.001+01:00

Good article on Latvia's economic crisis and neoliberal policies.

Mexico drugs

2011-09-07T19:48:00.001+01:00

Article on Mexico's war on drugs and the allegations that the Mexican government is backing the Sinaloa cartel against the Zetas, just like the US, which has paid informants in Sinaloa cartel.

Mexico drugs

2011-08-26T09:46:00.001+01:00

US is getting more involved in drug war in Mexico by allowing cross-border raids of Mexicans from the US.

US in Afghanistan until 2024http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

2011-08-22T20:42:00.004+01:00

Karzai is bowing to the US, which wants to stay in Afghanistan until 2024.
The report from the Daily Telegraph is here.

Eurasian Economic Union

2011-08-16T22:21:00.000+01:00

Putin wants an Eurasian Economic Union, EU-style.

9-11 Richard Clarke

2011-08-12T13:47:00.002+01:00

Articles on new accusations by Richard Clarke that the CIA had withheld information from him.

DEA on narco-terrorism in Afghanistan

2011-08-11T17:04:00.000+01:00

From:
http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/cngrtest/ct021204.htm

DEA Congressional Testimony
February 12, 2004

Statement of

Karen P. Tandy
Administrator

Drug Enforcement Administration

Before the

Committee on International Relations
U.S. House of Representatives

February 12, 2004

"United States Policy Towards Narco-Terrorism in Afghanistan"

Chairman Hyde, Ranking Member Lantos and distinguished members of the Committee, thank you for the invitation to testify today on the important issue of opium production in Afghanistan and its potential links to terrorism.

Overview

Afghan drug production is a priority for the DEA that guides our enforcement strategy in the region. As you know, opium production in Afghanistan has resumed over the last two years, although it is still lower than the highest level reached under the Taliban. While we expect that only a small portion of the resulting opium and heroin will ultimately reach the United States, these drugs are of great concern because they increase worldwide supply and have the potential to fund terrorists and other destabilizing groups. Because the situation inside Afghanistan presents unique challenges to law enforcement, the DEA has successfully acted with neighboring countries to control the spread of Afghan opium and heroin through Operation Containment.

I have just returned from Kabul where Assistant Secretary of State Robert Charles, other senior officials representing the United States, and I participated in discussions with Afghanistan Transitional Authority President Hamid Karzai, United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime Director Antonio Costa and other representatives from Afghanistan and the European Union on the challenges posed by Afghan drug production. The international drug control community shares our view that concerted multilateral efforts will be required to effectively address these problems. I look forward to discussing each of these important issues with the Committee.

Afghanistan Poppy Production and the U.S. Response

Significant Opium Production Resumes

Afghanistan is a major source country for the cultivation, processing and trafficking of opiate products. It has historically produced significant quantities of opium, and accounted for over 70 percent of the world's supply in the year 2000, when the United States government estimated Afghan opium production at 3,656 metric tons. In 2001, the Taliban banned the cultivation of opium poppy. The DEA believes that the ban was likely an attempt by the Taliban to raise the price of opium which had fallen significantly due to the abundant supply produced in years prior to 2001. Regardless of intent, production plummeted to 74 metric tons in 2001.

With the fall of the Taliban, Afghan growers resumed cultivation despite renewal of the ban on poppy growth by the Karzai government. Opium production has returned to its historically substantial amounts, although it is important to emphasize that it has not yet reached the level of poppy recorded in 2000. In 2003, the United States Government officially estimated production of 2,865 metric tons of oven-dried opium from 61,000 hectares of poppy cultivation.

Afghanistan: Estimated Annual Potential Opium Production (Metric Tons)

2003	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998	1997	1996
2,865	1,278	74	3,656	2,861	2,340	2,184	2,099

Heroin Production and Movement

The opium produced in Afghanistan is readily made into narcotics to be sold on the international market, much of which eventually reaches users in Europe. While Europe is the primary destination for Afghan heroin, much of the opium remains in Southwest Asia for local consumption. Laboratories convert the opium into morphine base, white heroin, or one of several grades of brown heroin. Large processing laboratories are located in southern Afghanistan; smaller laboratories are located in other areas of the country, including the Nangarhar Province. In addition, morphine base produced in Afghanistan is shipped to traffickers based in Turkey and converted to heroin.

Transporting converted opium from Afghanistan is no easy task. Larger than the State of Texas, Afghanistan is landlocked, forcing traffickers to rely on challenging overland routes to move drug shipments out of the country. In addition to the traditional smuggling routes through Iran to Turkey, our intelligence reports indicate continued movement of heroin shipments north from Afghanistan through the Central Asian States, notably Tajikistan, to Russia. Some of the heroin is consumed in Russia, while a portion moves on to other markets. Afghan heroin also moves through India enroute to international markets and continues to be trafficked through Pakistan, where heroin is smuggled out through airports and vessels leaving the Pakistan coast.

DEA intelligence suggests that relatively little Afghan heroin is ultimately destined for the United States, although we continue to monitor carefully the market for potential new trends. Through the Heroin Signature Program (HSP), the DEA Special Testing and Research Laboratory analyzes samples from seizures at ports of entry and other randomly selected sources to determine their purity and geographic origin. In 2002, Southwest Asian heroin (which includes Afghan heroin) accounted for ten percent of the weight of all samples analyzed. Preliminary data for 2003 indicate that Southwest Asian heroin was eight percent by weight of the sample, although the 2003 survey is not yet complete. Similarly, the Domestic Monitor Program (DMP), which examines samples bought undercover on American streets to monitor their characteristics, showed that Southwest Asian heroin represented four percent of samples in 2002 and five percent in 2003. Neither HSP nor DMP results should be equated with market share, but rather suggest availability over time.

The DEA's Response Inside Afghanistan

Opium production in Afghanistan nonetheless is a significant concern and a priority for the DEA because of its impact on worldwide drug supply and its potential, as I will discuss later, to provide financial support to terrorists and other destabilizing groups. In assessing strategies to control and respond to this production, it is important to understand the significant operational obstacles we face in Afghanistan. Three decades of civil war and unrest have left the criminal justice system in disarray. Outside of Kabul, the country is not uniformly controlled by the central government. DEA has no national or local drug enforcement counterparts and Afghanistan lacks many of the most basic elements of its criminal justice institutions. Due to security constraints, DEA's presence in Afghanistan is limited to two agents, whose movement and ability to conduct traditional drug enforcement operations are severely restricted.

The DEA's Kabul Country Office, reopened in February 2003, nonetheless is making superb contributions under these difficult circumstances. DEA agents continue to gather and disseminate intelligence to U.S. and British law enforcement and intelligence agencies. We have made the collection and analysis of drug intelligence a priority within Afghanistan and Central Asia and are supporting a Department of Defense initiative to open an intelligence "fusion center" for multinational information sharing. Our country office also continues to debrief confidential sources in Kabul and supports domestic and foreign drug enforcement operations.

The DEA also works with other federal agencies on law enforcement matters in Afghanistan. Three months ago, DEA's Kabul Country Office personnel assisted the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and the U.S. Army, traveling by convoy from Kabul to Kunduz to recruit police officers and soldiers for the Afghanistan Police Force and to conduct a site survey for a new Regional Law Enforcement Training Center to be funded by the United States. The mission was successful: for example, the Konduz RTC will be operational in March.

Operation Containment

The challenges to law enforcement within Afghanistan strongly suggested the need for a simultaneous, concerted effort to control Afghan drugs in neighboring countries before they can spread to broader markets. Operation Containment is a large-scale, multinational law enforcement initiative begun in early 2002 under the leadership of the DEA and with special support from Congress. Emphasizing coordination and information sharing among nineteen countries from Central Asia, the Caucuses, Europe and Russia, the program aims to implement a joint strategy to deprive drug trafficking organizations of their market access and international terrorist groups of financial support from drugs, precursor chemicals, weapons, ammunition and currency. It has been enormously successful, and I would like to thank the Committee for its strong support for this initiative.

The DEA supports Operation Containment worldwide, particularly in Pakistan, Turkey, Russia, and Central Asia. We have expanded existing offices in Europe and Southwest Asia and opened a new office in Uzbekistan. The DEA has assigned Special Agents to its Kabul, Ankara, Istanbul, Tashkent, Moscow and London Offices to support Operation Containment. In addition, one Intelligence Specialist and one support position are assigned in Ankara and one support position is assigned in Tashkent to support Operation Containment. DEA is also seeking approval to assign two Special Agents to Kyrgyzstan and additional agent and intelligence personnel to Uzbekistan and Brussels for Operation Containment.

Another key element is the Sensitive Investigative Unit (SIU), a program that has been highly successful in other regions of the world. An SIU is made up of host nation law enforcement personnel, who are individually screened to protect against corruption and then specially trained and equipped to DEA standards. We have established a new DEA SIU in Uzbekistan, and the DEA SIU in Pakistan has made several significant seizures. These DEA-lead units provide critical and valuable assistance to anti-drug efforts in their countries.

Intelligence sharing is also a priority, with the initiative supporting regional intelligence sharing centers in Bucharest, Romania and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and a short-term Fusion Center program in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. DEA has temporarily assigned an Intelligence Analyst to the Bucharest intelligence center.

Operation Containment has been a great success. Since March 2002, it has resulted in 23 significant seizures of narcotics and precursor chemicals and led to the dismantlement and disruption of several major distribution/transportation organizations involved in the Southwest Asian drug trade. These include the disruption three months ago in Istanbul of the Galip Kuyucu transportation group, which was one of the most significant heroin traffickers in Turkey and a Justice Department international priority target. The Turkish National Police, working with the DEA and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, seized 495 kilograms of heroin, and disrupted this organization, which was regularly transporting similarly sized amounts of drugs throughout Western Europe. This investigation also led to the arrest of Urfi Cetinkaya, a major source of heroin supply with direct ties to Afghan drug traffickers.

Another significant success for Operation Containment was the arrest of 15 members of the Attila Ozyildirim heroin trafficking organization and the seizure of 7.4 tons of morphine base in Turkey during March 2002. This is the largest seizure of morphine base ever made. To put the magnitude of this seizure in perspective - the amount seized was more than four times greater than the total worldwide morphine base seizures made in 2000. Morphine base can be converted to heroin at a ratio of 1:1.

Drug Enforcement Training

The DEA is also working to build law enforcement capability and cooperation in Afghanistan and throughout the region. During October 2002, we participated along with officials from Afghanistan's Interior Ministry in a United Nations International Narcotics Control Board conference in Tashkent, Uzbekistan regarding Operation Topaz. Operation Topaz is intended to bring together law enforcement in several nations to detect and seize suspicious and unauthorized shipments of acetic anhydride, the primary precursor chemical used in the production of heroin.

We have particularly emphasized training for foreign law enforcement agencies, including a three week seminar conducted last September in the United States for high-level police managers. General Hilaluddin Hilal, Afghanistan's Deputy Interior Minister of Security Affairs, attended the course, which took place at both DEA Headquarters and the DEA Academy in Quantico, Virginia. I participated in this seminar personally as did members of the DEA's senior management, and we believe that it helped to begin and improve important partnerships with and among DEA and the international agencies involved.

During 2004, the DEA plans to conduct Drug Unit Commander training courses in Turkey and Uzbekistan. These one-week courses are funded through Operation Containment and are geared for supervisors of operational drug units. We anticipate that five to ten participants from throughout Afghanistan will attend each school. In addition, DEA is expanding its training efforts throughout the region during 2004, with training courses scheduled in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Thailand and India.

Links between Terrorism and the Afghan Drug Trade

DEA's Role in Fighting Terrorism

Mr. Chairman, the Committee has also asked me to address the potential links between terrorism and trafficking of Afghan opium and heroin. Last September, President Bush thanked DEA agents in a speech at Quantico, Virginia. He said "By keeping drug money from financing terror, you're playing an important part of this war." And we will continue doing so.

A narco-terrorist organization is an organized group that is complicit in the activities of drug trafficking to further or fund premeditated, politically motivated violence to influence a government or group of people. Although the DEA does not specifically target terrorists, some of the powerful international drug trafficking organizations we have targeted have never hesitated to use violence and terror to advance their interests. As of October 2003, the DEA has identified seventeen Foreign Terrorist Organizations, as designated by the Department of State, with potential ties to the drug trade. More generally, we know that drugs and terror frequently share a common ground of geography, money, and violence.

Our headquarters is only about 700 yards from the Pentagon, and DEA shook, literally and figuratively, when the terrorists attacked on September 11, 2001. DEA mobilized resources immediately, lending more than one hundred Special Agents to the Sky Marshal program, supporting the FBI investigation through the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) and fifty loaned Intelligence Analysts, and debriefing all of its Confidential Sources in an attempt to gain any available information on the attacks. Since the attack, EPIC has processed well over 200,000 terrorism inquiries.

During December 2001, the DEA formed a Special Coordination Unit at its Special Operations Division. This multi-agency unit coordinates all DEA intelligence and investigations having a possible nexus to terrorism and shares information with agencies responsible for coordinating terrorist intelligence and investigations. DEA drug investigations have generated such narco-terrorist related intelligence and investigations both domestically and internationally. DEA also has assigned personnel to various FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces across the country and maintains liaison with the Department of Homeland Security.

Evaluating Links between Drugs and Terrorism

Past domestic investigations have shown the clear potential for drug money to fund terrorist groups. In October 2001, a joint DEA/FBI investigation targeting two heroin traffickers in Peshawar, Pakistan led to the seizure of 1.4 kilograms of heroin in Maryland and identification of two suspected money launderers, one with suspected ties to al Qaida. Similarly, Operation Marble Palace in 2001 determined that several members of a targeted heroin trafficking organization had possible ties to the Taliban and that a connected bank account had been used to launder proceeds to alleged Taliban supporters in Pakistan.

Based on that demonstrated potential, many have suggested that there must be financial ties between drugs and terrorism in Afghanistan. At this time, we do not have evidence capable of sustaining an indictment of direct links between terrorism and narcotics trafficking groups within Afghanistan. To the extent that allegations have been raised based on more than speculation, they generally come from single sources. Clear corroborating evidence of such sources has been difficult to obtain, in part because many traditional investigative techniques cannot be used within the country for reasons I have previously explained.

Raw intelligence and uncorroborated confidential sources continue to indicate possible relationships between drug traffic and terrorist groups within Afghanistan. The DEA will continue to assign the highest priority to investigating any information linking drugs to terrorism. We will do so in cooperation with our law enforcement and intelligence partners, and we will aggressively work to gather and document intelligence relating to drug activity that may finance terrorism.

The Drug/Financial Fusion Center recently created by Congress will use the Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force's architecture to enhance capabilities to uncover links between drug trafficking and terrorism. Investigative links between drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and known terrorist organizations will be shared with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the Treasury Department and the intelligence community. Additionally, our intelligence programs continue to work closely with law enforcement and the intelligence community to identify and anticipate emerging threats posed by the links between drug trafficking and terrorism.

Conclusion

Mr. Chairman, control of drug production in Afghanistan and its potential ties to terrorism is an agencywide priority for the DEA. I very much appreciate the opportunity to testify before the Committee today. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Economy

2011-08-09T21:22:00.001+01:00

Interesting piece by Paul Craig Roberts on the dollar, debt, etc.

DEA

2011-08-09T14:16:00.001+01:00

Article on the blurring of counternarcotics and terrorism cases by the DEA since a few years.

MEK

2011-08-09T13:40:00.002+01:00

Big article on the MEK, who is giving large sums of money to US politicians so that they speak favorably about them.

Mexico drugs

2011-08-07T19:31:00.003+01:00

The US is expanding its efforts in Mexico's counternarcotics campaign, now sending CIA officials and former military officials to Mexico to train Mexicans in counter-drug operations.

health care

2011-08-05T15:27:00.000+01:00

Article on the potential effects on health care of the debt agreement.

Iran drugs

2011-08-05T15:21:00.001+01:00

Article on Iran's war on drugs by a HRW researcher highlighting the tough measures taken like the death penalty.

Pentagon super elite forces

2011-08-04T19:29:00.002+01:00

Nick Turse on the Pentagon's JSOC forces that conduct operations in 120 countries.

UK torture

2011-08-04T14:16:00.001+01:00

The UK condoned torture, as revealed by new documents.

CIA secret sites in Somalia

2011-07-29T17:05:00.001+01:00

Jeremy Scahill on the CIA's secret sites in Somalia.

Congress doesn't care about nuclear terrorism

2011-07-23T18:57:00.001+01:00

The House of Rep moved to slash budgets to secure nuclear facilities in the US and overseas that contain radioactive materials.

Argentina default

2011-07-19T13:02:00.001+01:00

Article on Argentina's default from the FT.

Obama FTAs

2011-07-17T15:38:00.001+01:00

Obama is pushing free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama.

Mexico drugs

2011-07-12T17:18:00.001+01:00

Mexican drug cartel members are apparently paid informants of the US.

HRW torture report

2011-07-12T07:58:00.001+01:00

New HRW torture report on the crimes of the Bush administration.

Euro

2011-07-11T21:45:00.001+01:00

Good article by Mark Weisbrot on the euro, arguing that EU monetary policy is more right wing than in the US.

John Walker Lindh

2011-07-10T10:47:00.000+01:00

John Walker Lindh's father wrote a long detailed description of his son's adventures.

Mexico drugs

2011-07-08T21:14:00.001+01:00

Charles Bowden interview on economics, drugs and mexico and the war on drugs.

Suicide rates up in Europe

2011-07-08T14:17:00.001+01:00

Suicide rates are up in Europe and particularly in countries affected by the economic crisis most severely like Ireland and Greece.

Europe to privatize assets everywhere

2011-07-02T08:32:00.001+01:00

Guardian has a good summary of what is on the privatization lists of various European countries.

Mexico heroin cannabis

2011-06-30T09:13:00.001+01:00

Article on heroin and poppy production in Mexico and one on cannabis.

Greece

2011-06-28T10:04:00.001+01:00

Greece has plans to privatize a lot of its public assets to raise money.

Greece bailout

2011-06-27T10:20:00.001+01:00

Article saying how the EU authorities are imposing colonialism on Greece through bailout and austerity measures.

Obama rendition

2011-06-26T18:26:00.000+01:00

Has rendition disappeared under Obama?

Pipeline politics in central asia

2011-06-26T18:22:00.000+01:00

Article on pipeline politics in central asia.

Greece debt germany

2011-06-25T17:18:00.001+01:00

Der Spiegel interview with professor says Germany has been the biggest debt transgressor of the 20th century in relation to WW1 and World War 2 in which reparations to say Greece were forgotten.

Afghanistan mujahideen

2011-06-25T09:36:00.001+01:00

The US kept funding the mujahideen after 1989 as says Robert Parry.

Iran Pakistan Afghanistan

2011-06-22T17:24:00.001+01:00

Iran is trying to undermine US influence in Afghanistan by trying to form alliances with Pakistan. For example the IPI pipeline is discussed.

Drug War Juarez

2011-06-15T08:40:00.001+01:00

Al Jazeera video on the war on drugs in Mexico and Juarez.

Drug war failing reports

2011-06-09T08:45:00.001+01:00

The Drug war has failed say two new reports from the US government.

US energy eurasia

2011-06-06T18:43:00.001+01:00

US plans at the geopolitical and geoeconomic levels in Afghanistan and the region of eurasia.

Drugs Afghanistan

2011-06-06T09:43:00.003+01:00

Article written by a US soldier about poppies and drugs in Afghanistan.

Drug war Latin America

2011-06-06T09:09:00.001+01:00

US is using drug wars as pretexts to build military bases in Latin America.

War on drugs report

2011-06-04T07:15:00.002+01:00

Martin Wolf on the failed war on drugs and the latest global report.

Obama Middle East speech

2011-05-21T09:43:00.002+01:00

Article showing that Obama's speech was contrary to his policies.
Article describing how
neoliberal policies caused the economic and unemployment crisis that led to protests in Tunisia and Egypt.

US Middle East arms

2011-05-18T09:23:00.002+01:00

Nick Turse on US sales of weapons to the Middle East.

Canada in Iraq War

2011-05-17T08:17:00.001+01:00

Article based on wikileaks documents showing that although Canada officially stayed out of the Iraq War, it made some contributions to it. For example some high-level Canadian soldiers were involved in the planning.

NATO SCO Afghanistan

2011-05-16T20:52:00.000+01:00

Excellent article by Bhadrakumar describing the geopolitics in Central Asia and Afghanistan pitting the SCO and NATO against one another.

Greece crisis euro

2011-05-14T10:04:00.001+01:00

Weisbrot has a good article with many good links on Greece's possible exit from the euro.

Mexico drugs money laundering

2011-05-14T09:51:00.001+01:00

Mexico and drug money laundering article here, with US "efforts" against it.

Working hours in the world

2011-05-04T18:55:00.000+01:00

Mexicans work the most hours in the world and the Belgians the least.

Mexico drugs europe

2011-05-04T18:52:00.001+01:00

Article saying that Europe must do more to help Mexico's drug problem.

bin Laden Taliban offers

2011-05-04T09:42:00.002+01:00

Gareth Porter shows how the Bush administration rejected diplomatic proposals by the Taliban to catch bin Laden before and after the bombing started in October 2001, and also how it basically focus no military attention to catching him as he was escaping from Afghanistan to Pakistan.
Another article is here.

Torture and bin Laden

2011-05-04T09:07:00.001+01:00

Good article showing that torture of detainees did not lead to clues about where bin Laden was.

Al Qaeda and Guantanamo files

2011-04-28T08:56:00.001+01:00

Jason Burke discusses three myths on Al Qaeda based on the Guantanamo files.

Iraq Media

2011-04-25T11:49:00.003+01:00

The Iraqi government of Maliki, backed by the US, is cracking down on press freedom. The article also has links to NSA documents that say that the US attempted to control the media in collaboration with the Maliki governement in the wake of the removal of Saddam, and there's also a link to a recent report on the media in post-Saddam Iraq.

Oil companies Iraq

2011-04-19T08:15:00.001+01:00

New memos from before the Iraq War (2002) reveal that British oil companies and the UK government lobbied for a share of Iraq's oil in the wake of the war.

Libya

2011-04-11T09:51:00.001+01:00

Good Q&A on Libya from Zmag.

Drug money laundering by US banks

2011-04-03T10:54:00.001+01:00

Excellent article telling the story of how a US bank, Wachovia, laundered billions of dollars of drug money from Mexico. There are among other things some good paragraphs at the end on the failure and disinterest to tackle banks' money laundering activities on the part of the regulatory community.

15,000 deaths from nuclear testing

2011-04-03T03:37:00.001+01:00

Nuclear testing has led to cancers and deaths, at least 15,000.