In the following segment from a recent This American Life episode, a mild mannered young Iraqi travels through Bush country talking to people and trying to make sense of why the U.S. invaded his country.
Here is part one:
And part two:
I think I know who I’m voting for in 2032.
Somalia, Somalians, and an AC-130 used in at least two airstrikes in Somalia in early 2007.
The United States has directly attacked Somalia at least four times during the past year and a half. Just within the last couple of months, the United States has bombed the towns of Dusamareb and Dhoble.
In Dusamareb, the U.S. was targeting Aden Hashi Ayro, whom they suspected of being a “terrorist” affiliated with al-Qaeda. Tomahawk missiles were launched into the town from a U.S. warship off the coast of Somalia. Several civilians were also killed in the attack, including women and children.
In Dhoble, the U.S. claims to have used Tomahawk missiles again, but locals claim to have seen AC-130 planes. Locals also claimed that at least 4 civilians were killed, and several more were wounded.
A little context: These bombings are directed at members of al-Shabaab, which is the military wing of the Islamic Courts Union who briefly controlled much of Somalia in 2006 — and who had brought relative peace and stability to the chaotic yet oil rich nation — before they were forced from power by U.S.-backed Ethiopian troops. (Christian Ethiopia is a historic enemy of Somalia, which is almost entirely Sunni Muslim.)
The U.S.-backed Ethiopian invasion has contributed to a humanitarian crisis the International Committee of the Red Cross has described as “catastrophic”. Over a million people have been made internal refugees, and the U.N warned that 3.5. million Somalis — nearly half the country’s population — face famine. Moreover, Amnesty International has collected many accounts of atrocities by Ethiopian troops.
Groups in opposition to the U.S. Ethiopian backed Transitional Federal Government have been launching counter-attacks, also resulting in civilian deaths, continuing the cycle of violence:
A good discussion of the whole situation here:
Part Two of the discussion here.
Al-Jazzera reported last week that peace talks are scheduled for May 31, but that “the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia, the main opposition alliance which includes the Islamic Courts Union said it would not be involved in direct talks until the government agrees to a timetable for Ethiopian troops to withdraw.”
Perhaps 100,000 dead and a million homeless after Cyclone Nargis devastated Yangon and the Delta area of Myanmar / Burma on May 3.Here is a clip from Al-Jazeera’s 101 East program that focuses on the the disaster in Myanmar / Burma and how the ruling military junta is handling the crisis:
Some background on the country and its government:
Britain began conquering what was to become Burma in 1824 and had incorporated it into the British Raj by 1886. During the first half of the 20th century, Buddhist monks became the vanguards of the independence movement. After WWII, the Union of Burma became and independent republic, but democratic rule ended with a military coup d’etat in 1962.
In the following decades, student protests against military rule were violently suppressed. Economic mismanagement and political oppression led to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988, which were followed by another military coup.
The new military government allowed free elections in 1990, and Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won 392 out of 489 seats. However, the military refused to step down and Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest, where she still finds herself today.
Buddhist monks and other activists still demonstrate against the oppressive military junta, which continues to respond with violence.Here is a news clip about last year’s clash between monks and soldiers.
And here is a report about how the military junta censors the news about the cyclone.
Eric Prince, CEO of Blackwater Worldwide and a woman caring for Hassan Jabbar, an Iraqi citizen wounded by Blackwater mercenaries in the al-nassour area of Baghdad on September 16, 2007. Jabbar was one of the lucky ones – 17 other civilians killed in the massacre, including women and children. Even the F.B.I. concluded that 14 of the deaths were “unjustified”.
Blackwater and other private armies operate outside of the law, literally. Two days before he left Iraq, L. Paul Bremmer signed “Order 17” giving all Americans associated with the CPA and the American government immunity under Iraqi law.
Neither are they subject to US Military Tribunals, allowing them to kill without legal repercussions.
According to a Congressional report at the end of last year, Blackwater has “earned” 1 billion dollars of tax money since 2001, and they have been involved in 195 shootings since 2005.
Nonetheless, despite the lack of accountability and the slaughter of innocents, the U.S. State Department has just renewed Blackwater’s contract, thereby continuing to funnel US tax money into these mercenaries’ bloody hands.
And they have been trying to use their war profits to open more bases in the United States. Last year, Blackwater tried to open a weapons training facility in Potrero, California, near San Diego. The locals successfully blocked the project by recalling all five members of the Potrero Community planning group who had approved it.
But now they are trying to open another training facility in south San Diego, three blocks from the Mexican Border.
(If you are interested in blocking this move, click here to send a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi here. If you also live in San Diego, you can address your Mayor here. These letters must be signed before 9AM PST on Tuesday May 6th.)
Jeremy Scahill, contributor to The Nation magazine and author of Blackwater, The Rise of the Most Powerful Mercenary Army, breaks down the general Blackwater situation in this clip:
October 2007 Erik Prince testifies before congress. Bill Moyers presents the highlights of Prince’s testimony and media spin here.
You can also see Scahill confront the Vice President of Blackwater about the killing of civilians and be interviewed by Amy Goodman here.
Here is a clip about blackwater from Robert Greenwald’s 2006 documentary Iraq for Sale:
Journeyman Pictures has made a documentary about the history of mercenaries in warfare in general. You can see a 10 minute cut of the film here.
