US Empire

American Suez?: The Costs Of Bombing Iran

March 27, 2020 Maj. Danny Sjursen USA (ret.), Popular Resistance. Educate! British Empire, COVID-19, Suez Canal, US Empire

Decaying empires behave badly. Late-stage imperial states easily fall prey to perilous insecurity and irrationality, and tend to lash out like wounded, cornered animals. Perhaps it must be so: naught but a collective macro-reflection of the human condition. Unfortunately, many thousands - often millions - of innocents tend to die at the denouement of empire. "Dirty wars" usually ensue during the imperial endgame. That time is near, it seems, for the American hegemon. There’s hardly “dirtier,” or nastier, proof of “bad behavior” than recent reports that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (unsuccessfully, thus far) urged President Trump to use this pandemic opportunity to bomb Iran; or of the administration’s persistent devotion to lethal “maximum pressure" sanctions certain to multiply the Corona-mortality of innocents.

Scheer Intelligence: The Afghanistan War Turned Americans Into ‘Good Germans’

March 19, 2020 Robert Scheer, KCRW.com. Educate! Afghanistan, Podcast, US Empire, Wars and Militarism

Nearly 19 years into the Afghanistan War, it seems the U.S. might be finally ready to end the longest armed conflict in its history. The Trump administration announced in late February that a peace deal was being negotiated with the Taliban and there was intention of recalling U.S. troops. Retired Maj. Danny Sjursen, an author and historian who spent half of his life in the Army, speaks with host Robert Scheer on this week’s episode of “Scheer Intelligence” to analyze how we got caught up in Afghanistan in the first place. Tracing the conflict through his personal and professional experiences, Sjursen recalls how the Sept. 11 attacks became the impetus for so many young men like himself to put their lives on the line for a country they believed would be on the right side of history. Not long into his service, however, the retired army major learned that the multiple wars he fought in had little to do with the terrorist attacks billed as the cause, as evidenced by his first deployment.

The US Land Of Make Believe

February 6, 2020 Chris Hedges, Truthdig. Educate! Myths, Propaganda, US Empire, White Supremacy

If what happens in courtrooms across the country to poor people of color is justice, what is happening in the Senate is a trial. If the blood-drenched debacles and endless quagmires in the Middle East are victories in the war on terror, our military is the greatest on earth. If the wholesale government surveillance of the public, the revoking of due process and having the world’s largest prison population are liberty, we are the land of the free. If the president, an inept, vulgar and corrupt con artist, is the leader of the free world, we are a beacon for democracy and our enemies hate us for our values. If Jesus came to make us rich, bless the annihilation of Muslims by our war machine and condemn homosexuality and abortion, we are a Christian nation.

Why The Bloated Military Budget Threatens To Bring Down The US Empire

February 4, 2020 David Adams, DecadeCultureOfPeace.org. Educate! CIA, Military Budget, US Empire

The continued, unchecked, expansion of the American military budget, as described in this month’s CPNN bulletin reminds me of what happened to the Soviet empire in the 1980’s. In the beginning of the 1980’s there were three things that foreshadowed the end of the Soviet empire: 1. The decision of the CIA to destroy the Soviet empire, not by war, but by the arms race to bankrupt their economy. By matching the West’s military budgets ruble for dollar, but based on an economy only half as great, the Soviet Union was forced to divert almost all of its resources to the military. For example, in the West about 40% of scientists and engineers were engaged directly or indirectly with the military, but in the Soviet Union it was closer to 90%. There was nothing left for economic development or for the needs of the people.

Iran, China And The Challenge To US Hegemony

January 26, 2020 By Qiao Collective. Educate! Belt and Road Initiative, China, Iran, US Empire

In order to mount a serious challenge to American empire, the U.S. anti-war movement must understand the terms of engagement: economic terrorism through sanctions and political isolation and destabilization have become the primary modes of U.S. imperialism. Often obscured by overt acts of military violence, U.S. hybrid warfare waged against not only Iran but Venezuela, Bolivia, North Korea, and China is the primary contradiction facing the global struggle against imperialism. For too long, U.S. critics of American empire have evaded the derisively termed “China question” in favor of false equivalences and the repetition of U.S. state talking points. But behind the Cold War rhetoric, China has proven itself as a strategic ally for countless nations with which U.S. leftists claim solidarity.

Our Responsibility As Citizens Of Empire

January 6, 2020 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Clearing the FOG. Podcast Iran, Iraq, US Empire, Venezuela

The United States reached a new height of recklessness on January 3 when the military assassinated Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes in Iraq, igniting major mobilizations throughout Iraq and Iran of mourning and rage. We spoke with Ajamu Baraka of Black Alliance for Peace shortly after we learned of the murders. He describes what they mean, how to counter the militarists' messages in support of war and next steps for the anti-war, anti-imperialist movement. We also bring you clips from the national day of action in the United States on January 4 when people took the streets in protest in more than 80 cities and 38 states. And we discuss what really happened at the Venezuelan National Assembly on Sunday.

How Fake ‘American Exceptionalism’ Hides Shame, Creates Stupidity & Dangerous Imperialism

December 25, 2019 By S. Brian Willson, Global Research Educate! American Exceptionalism, US Empire, Wars and Militarism

The culture and nation-state of the United States of America are founded on the egregious and forceful dispossession of others. You might even call it an earlier version of fascism – institutional dehumanization for private profit. A myth, or grand lie, was created that we are an exceptional people, effectively pre-empting openly experiencing the important feeling of social shame and, in turn, blocking any accountability or genuine inquiry into our genocidal origins built on stolen land and labor, that murdered millions with impunity. Thus, we live by the fantasy of our superiority, which functionally makes us stupid, as if in a stupor.

Understanding US Foreign Policy Is Essential For Progressive Struggle

October 20, 2019 Harry Targ, Diary of a Heartland Radical. Educate! Empire Economy, Trump, US Empire, Wars and Militarism

Just before the Korean War started in 1950, key foreign policy advisers to President Truman threw their support behind recommendations made in a classified document, National Security Council Document 68. The document recommended a dramatic increase in military spending and it also proposed that military spending from that point on should be the number one priority of the national government. When presidents sit down to construct a federal budget, the document said, they should first allocate all the money requested by military and corporate elites and lobbyists concerned with military spending. Only after the military advocates receive all they request should government programs address education, health care, roads, transportation, housing and other critical domestic issues.

Pink Tide Against US Domination Rising Again In Latin America

October 14, 2019 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance Newsletter Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Puerto Rico, US Empire, Venezuela

Once again, the left is rising in Latin America as people revolt against authoritarian regimes, many of whom were put in place by US-supported coups. These regimes have taken International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans and are under the thumb of international finance, which is against the interests of people. After the embattled President of Ecuador claimed that President Nicolas Maduro was the cause of the massive protests against him, Maduro made clear what was occurring in Latin America, saying: “We have two models: the IMF model which privatizes everything and takes away the people’s rights to health, education and work; and the humanist-progressive model which is emerging in Latin America and has the Bolivarian Revolution at the forefront.”

US Veterans Being Held In Ireland Walk For Freedom

September 8, 2019 Ciaran Tierney, Irish Central. Resist! Ireland, Peace, US Empire, Wars and Militarism

Two elderly US military veterans are to begin a marathon three-week walk from Limerick to the most northerly point in Ireland this weekend to protest against what they claim are human rights abuses by the Irish authorities. Veterans Ken Mayers (82), from New Mexico, and Tarak Kauff (77), New York, will begin their ‘Walk for Freedom’ outside Limerick Prison on Saturday morning to highlight the fact that they have been unable to travel home to their families for the past six months. They have been awaiting trial for non-violent action at Shannon Airport in the West of Ireland on St Patrick's Day. The two men were arrested at Shannon on March 17 when they tried to inspect an Omni International aircraft, which was on its way to Kuwait. The veterans believed it was carrying US troops and weapons in violation of international law.

The Illegal Overthrow Of The Hawaiian Kingdom Government

August 31, 2019 Keanu Sai, PhD, NEA Today. Educate! Hawaii, Sovereignty, US Empire

In 2001, the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s arbitral tribunal, in Larsen v. Hawaiian Kingdom, declared “in the nineteenth century the Hawaiian Kingdom existed as an independent State recognized as such by the United States of America, the United Kingdom and various other States, including by exchanges of diplomatic or consular representatives and the conclusion of treaties.” The terms State and Country are synonymous. As an independent State, the Hawaiian Kingdom entered into extensive treaty relations with a variety of States establishing diplomatic relations and trade agreements. The Hawaiian Kingdom entered into three treaties with the United States: 1849 Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation; 1875 Commercial Treaty of Reciprocity; and 1883 Convention Concerning the Exchange of Money Orders.

Ten Ways We Pretend War Is Not A Crime And How To Change Them

August 27, 2019 David Swanson, Let's Try Democracy. Educate! Peace, Rule of Law, US Empire, Wars and Militarism

Happy Kellogg-Briand Pact Day! As you all know, but most people do not, the Peace Pact was signed 91 years ago today. And, as you all probably know, but most people do not, the inspiration and vision and endless labor behind it came from a mass movement begun and led, not by Mr. Kellogg or Monsieur Briand but by a lawyer from Chicago named Salmon Oliver Levinson. You could point that out to Minnesotans from Frank Kellogg’s Twin Cities if, of course, any of them had ever heard of Frank Kellogg. A long time back I was asked for a title for this speech, which I hadn’t yet written, and I replied “10 Ways We Pretend War Is Not a Crime and How to Change Them.” More recently I sat down with the hope that I could think of 10 such ways. Unfortunately, far more than 10 items immediately occurred to me.

The World Is Uniting For International Law, Against US Empire

August 11, 2019 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance Newsletter International Law, Iran, US Dollar, US Empire, Venezuela

"We oppose the extraterritorial application of unilateral measures." That is not Cuba, Nicaragua, Iran, Russia, or China talking about the most recent unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States against Venezuela, i.e. economic sanctions that have become an economic blockade, but the European Union. Even allies who have embarrassed themselves by recognizing the phony "interim president" Juan Guaido are saying the US has gone too far. All of the countries listed above and many more have stated their opposition to the escalation of the US economic war against Venezuela. Venezuela, along with Iran, has become a prime target of US regime change, and both are uniting the world in opposition to the US' bullying behavior, which is hastening the demise of US domination. Popular social movements are growing against US unilateralism and violations of international law.

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