Category Archives: Obama Administration

The fast and furious plot to occupy Iran

Iran, Islam in America, Obama Administration, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism Issue


Manssor Arbabsiar is shown in this courtroom sketch during an appearance in a Manhattan courtroom in New York on October 11, 2011

by Pepe Escobar, Al Jazeera, October 12, 2011

No one ever lost money betting on the dull predictability of the US government. Just as Occupy Wall Street is firing imaginations all across the spectrum – piercing the noxious revolving door between government and casino capitalism – Washington brought us all down to earth, sensationally advertising an Iranian cum Mexican cartel terror plot straight out of The Fast and the Furious movie franchise. The potential victim: Adel al-Jubeir, the ambassador in the US of that lovely counter-revolutionary Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

FBI Director Robert Mueller insisted the Iran-masterminded terror plot “reads like the pages of a Hollywood script”. It does. And quite a sloppy script at that. Fast and Furious duo Paul Walker/Vin Diesel wouldn’t be caught dead near it.

The good guys in this Washington production are the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). In the words of Attorney General Eric Holder, they uncovered “a deadly plot directed by factions of the Iranian government to assassinate a foreign Ambassador on US soil with explosives.”

Holder added that the bombing of the Saudi embassy in Washington was also part of the plan. Subsequent spinning amplified that to planned bombings of the Israeli embassy in Washington, as well as the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Buenos Aires. Continue reading The fast and furious plot to occupy Iran →

Which man will you buy a “Used” plot from?

Iran, Obama Administration, Terrorism Issue


The “very scary” Iranian Terror plot
by Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com, October 12, 2011

The most difficult challenge in writing about the Iranian Terror Plot unveiled yesterday is to take it seriously enough to analyze it. Iranian Muslims in the Quds Force sending marauding bands of Mexican drug cartel assassins onto sacred American soil to commit Terrorism — against Saudi Arabia and possibly Israel — is what Bill Kristol and John Bolton would feverishly dream up while dropping acid and madly cackling at the possibility that they could get someone to believe it. But since the U.S. Government rolled out its Most Serious Officials with Very Serious Faces to make these accusations, many people (therefore) do believe it; after all, U.S. government accusations = Truth. All Serious people know that. And in the ensuing reaction one finds virtually every dynamic typically shaping discussions of Terrorism and U.S. foreign policy.

To begin with, this episode continues the FBI’s record-setting undefeated streak of heroically saving us from the plots they enable. From all appearances, this is, at best, yet another spectacular “plot” hatched by some hapless loser with delusions of grandeur but without any means to put it into action except with the able assistance of the FBI, which yet again provided it through its own (paid, criminal) sources posing as Terrorist enablers. The Terrorist Mastermind at the center of the plot is a failed used car salesman in Texas with a history of pedestrian money problems. Dive under your bed. “For the entire operation, the government’s confidential sources were monitored and guided by federal law enforcement agents,” explained U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, and “no explosives were actually ever placed anywhere and no one was actually ever in any danger.’”
Continue reading Which man will you buy a “Used” plot from? →

A third of a century and counting…

"Arab Spring", Ali Abdullah Salih, Obama Administration, Yemen

Very few people live for an entire century. I had a great aunt who was born in 1899 and lived into the first part of the 21st century, thus straddling three arbitrarily separated centuries. Imagine someone alive before Henry Ford’s “Tin Lizzy” and the airplane but around to see the cell phone. I realize that a third of a century is not a long period of time against the fourscore and ten of biblical proportions, but it is an eternity in political terms. Few leaders these days survive long enough, no matter how popular or powerful. One who has lasted 34 years is Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Salih, who started out in a military coup in 1978 in North Yemen, helped united north and south in 1990 and has ruled both since with the ongoing pretense of national elections. He is in theory allowed two more years in his last election cycle, which he had “reluctantly” agreed to run in. But in February, hundreds of thousands of Yemeni citizens thought enough was enough and Salih’s support has dwindled dramatically. In early June he was almost killed in a bomb blast, but he has now returned to Yemen and his presence makes the situation in the country even more volatile. In 34 years you make a lot of enemies, but Salih has been defiant, pulling out all the stops to protect his wealth and his power.

The best way to visualize 34 years is to look at the photographic trajectory of his power against the various American Presidents he has associated with as a fellow state leader. The extraordinary picture published by Yemen Press and shown above is quite striking. Continue reading A third of a century and counting… →

US drone killing of Anwar al-Awlaki reinforces terrorists

Obama Administration, Terrorism Issue, Yemen


by Maajid Nawaz, The Guardian, October 1, 2011

As Anwar al-Awlaki became the first individual to be summarily executed by his own government in the “war on terror” on Friday, we are reminded of the dark side in this relentless pursuit for security.

Awlaki was an evil man who preached against humanity. As a counter-extremism adviser, I dedicate all my energies to discrediting his ilk. I am under no illusion of the danger that he posed. I live with such danger every day, through my work. Awlaki’s desire to arbitrarily kill, deny rights and bypass due process is what made him evil. In summarily executing him in this way, the US has just called the kettle black.

Just as achieving liberty takes years of bloody struggle, its violation is rarely brought about overnight. Arbitrary detention, extraordinary rendition, targeted killings and “enhanced interrogation” – otherwise known as torture – are but some of the measures that have slowly been re-introduced into human practice by the US. Now, add to that list the summary execution of a citizen. Continue reading US drone killing of Anwar al-Awlaki reinforces terrorists →

Is 4 million enough to get the point?

"Arab Spring", Ali Abdullah Salih, Obama Administration, Terrorism Issue, Yemen


Salih returns to Yemen, but probably not the best public relations to photograph him in front of an exit sign

In a move that took almost everyone by surprise, Ali Abdullah Salih returned to Yemen Friday from his recuperation stay in neighboring Saudi Arabia. It is not clear which Ali Abdullah Salih returned. Is it the one who has promised at least four times to abide by a GCC-brokered sweetheart deal that would give him immunity if he agrees to step down? Is it the Ali Abdullah Salih who was badly burned and almost killed in a bomb explosion last June and was considered unlikely to ever return to Yemen? Is it the father who cannot control his succession-mongering son and relatives from trying to kill off any possible opponents to their eventual takeover? Is it the Ali Abdullah Salih who has survived dancing on the heads of snakes for over three decades? Could it even be Ali Abdullah Salih the peacemaker, calling for negotiations?

In a way it does not really matter. Yesterday it is estimated that some 4 million Yemenis took to the streets all over Yemen protesting his regime and any attempt to perpetuate it. To be sure there are still some supporters, but the overwhelming majority of Yemenis have demonstrated, quite literally, that it is time the Arab Spring blossom into a new political system in Yemen. Meanwhile, it seems all the sides jostling for power are more interested in self promotion than love of their country. The cowardly attacks of the Republican Guard on the protesters will only make these regimists all the more hated. The battle for Sanaa is bringing life to a grinding halt in the capital city and taking the life of far too many innocent civilians caught in the crossfire. All of Yemen is suffering. Continue reading Is 4 million enough to get the point? →

Doomed to Disappoint

"Arab Spring", Arab-Israeli Conflict, Obama Administration, Palestine


John J. Mearsheimer

by John J. Mearsheimer, Pink Tank, May 19, 2011

Barack Obama gave a major speech on the Middle East today and it is clear from the subsequent commentary that he impressed few people. The main reason is that he did not say much new or indicate that there would be any serious changes in US policy in the region. It was essentially more of the same with the some tweaking here and there. Nevertheless, he did manage to anger some people. For example, Israel’s hard-line supporters were outraged that he said, “Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps.” For them, the 1967 borders are “Auschwitz borders” and thus can never serve as a basis for negotiations.

Many Palestinians, on the other hand, did not like Obama’s assertion that it made little sense for them to go to the UN General Assembly this September and win recognition for a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. Surely they also noticed that shortly after saying that “every state has the right to self-defense, and Israel must be able to defend itself,” the president said that the Palestinians would have to be content with “a sovereign non-militarized state,” which means that they will not be able to defend themselves against Israel or any other state for that matter. Hypocrisy appears to be wired into the DNA of American foreign-policy makers. Continue reading Doomed to Disappoint →

Two Bad Options in Yemen

"Arab Spring", Ali Abdullah Salih, Obama Administration, Photography, Yemen

On April 1, pro-government protesters clung to poles bearing the country’s flag, demonstrating their loyalty to the regime; photograph by Karim Ben Khelifa for Newsweek

by Gregory Johnsen, Waq al-Waq, April 4, 2011

Following weeks of on-again, off-again negotiations, in which Salih appeared to back away from tentative deals to step down, forces loyal to his government opened fire on protesters today in Taizz, killing at least 15 according to al-Jazeera.

Other forces in Hudaydah also cracked down on protesters today, firing live bullets and tear gas and injuring more than 300 according to the breaking news tracker on Mareb Press. (Note: many of these injuries are the result of tear gas.)

There are also early reports of renewed clashes in Sanaa.

All of this comes shortly after the New York Times published a piece today suggesting that the US is ready to abandon President Salih.

The piece is getting a lot of play on al-Jazeera, and on nearly every Yemeni news website.

It is unfortunate that the Obama administration’s policy only began “to shift in the past week.” Salih’s demise has been self-evident for much longer than that, and consistent US refusals to see that and the resulting dithering and calls for negotiations (asking protesters to give up the only leverage they have) has only put U.S. security interests more at risk.

Salih’s last-ditch attempts to hold on to power have resulted in a security breakdown in other parts of the country, as parts of the military defected and others abandoned their posts. This breakdown has opened up a great deal of space for AQAP – anyone think they aren’t taking advantage of the current situation?

I argued nearly a month ago that the US needs to ask more than just: what comes after Salih? Continue reading Two Bad Options in Yemen →

Weapons of Mass Arm Twist Dealing

"Arab Spring", Books You Should Read, Libya, Obama Administration, Terrorism Issue

As millions of dollars worth of U.S. and NATO military weapons are now raining down on the millions of dollars worth of weapons in Libyan leader Qaddafi’s recently expanded arsenal, there is a scenario that must make all the arms manufacturers of the world unite in smugness. Over a month ago Der Spiegel ran an article with the following news:

Helicopters from Italy, communication technology from Germany: When the arms embargo against Libya was lifted in 2004, the country’s dictator Moammar Gadhafi went on a shopping spree in the European Union. Now he is using those weapons against his own people — to the EU’s shame… According to an EU report, European Union member states provided the dictator with defense equipment worth €344 million ($474 million) in 2009 alone.

It must be a bit easier to destroy Qaddafi’s military machine, since the ones now destroying it are the ones responsible for creating it. One used to hear the fatalistic mantra: the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. It seems that the EU and NATO have replaced the Lord these days. I am not in any way defending Qaddafi, a brutal maniac who has plundered Libya for over four decades. Nor am I convinced one way or the other if the no-fly-in-the ointment strategy will work. But I recall the poignant words of author Jean Makdisi in her brilliant Beirut Fragments (Persea Books, 1990, p. 45):

“I ponder, for the ten thousandth time since this damnable war began, on the happiness of the manufacturers and salesmen of arms and ammunition. Every roar, whistle, and crash translates itself in my mind to the sound of a cash register, the tinkle of champagne glasses, and the hum of conversation at a very expensive restaurant somewhere. The glisten of shrapnel, the smoke billowing out of someone’s ruined home, the rumble of the big guns, are all echoed in my imagination as the glitter of jewelry, the smoke of cigars lazily puffed out of appreciative lips, and the rolling of drums for a hip-swinging, carefree dance. The screams of a terrified, burning child become the laughter of those who reap the gains of this havoc.”