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After his inauguration, President Barak Obama signed an Executive Order mandating more humane conditions for prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and the closure of the prison within a year. With the January 22 deadline passed, the detention camp reflects the Obama Administration's failure to change US national security policy from the framework of the Bush Administration's "War on Terror. According to Wilkerson, they feared that releasing these prisoners would jeopardize their push for war in Iraq and the broader War on Terror. This is the first time that such allegations have been made by a senior member of the Bush administration.
The US administration has been exploiting a recently foiled terrorist coup, the Najibullah Ziza case, to justify the Patriot and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Acts. Such fear mongering resembles the behavior of the previous administration. By publicly connecting the Patriot Act with prevented terrorist attacks the administration misleadingly suggests that the plot could not or would not have been thwarted without recourse to such extreme surveillance measures.
In the British police thwarted a terrorist plot with the help of US and British electronic surveillance. Some polemicists used this to justify illegal government surveillance programs. However the information used in had been obtained legally, thus invalidating this justification. This foiled attack shows that governments do not need to resort to illegitimate activities to successfully fight terrorism.
Russia recently agreed to allow US troops and weapons to fly over its territory on the way to war in Afghanistan. Washington's war in Afghanistan is likely to last longer than the Soviet Union's war in the country, which began in late and ended in early Governments that divert aid relief funds to anti-terrorism efforts exacerbate the suffering of the world's poorest people, argues Christian Aid. This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, , the Bush administration declared a worldwide "war on terror," involving open and covert military operations, new security legislation, efforts to block the financing of terrorism, and more.
Washington called on other states to join in the fight against terrorism asserting that "either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. Critics charge that the "war on terrorism" is an ideology of fear and repression that creates enemies and promotes violence rather than mitigating acts of terror and strengthening security. The worldwide campaign has too often become an excuse for governments to repress opposition groups and disregard international law and civil liberties. Governments should address terrorism through international cooperation, using international law and respecting civil liberties and human rights.
Governments should also address the root causes of terrorism, notably political alienation due to prejudice, state-sponsored violence and poverty. This site deals with the idea and practice of the "war on terrorism. The site looks at terrorism's history and root causes and how the concept has been used and abused. The targeted elimination of US citizen and radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki for his alleged role as a terrorist affiliate raises troubling international legal questions.
Reports Mixed Results on Afghan Poppy Crops September 30, Afghanistan modestly reduced its poppy cultivation this year in Helmand province though nationwide production has remained the same or increased. However, as he calls for global cooperation, Obama has intensified the US war in Afghanistan and secret operations in the Middle East. Detainees Barred from Access to US Courts May 21, A US Court of Appeals ruled that three men, who were captured outside Afghanistan and have been detained for years without trial, have no right to habeas corpus hearings in US Courts as Bagram is "on the sovereign territory of another government.
On taking office, President Obama pledged to close Guantanamo Bay prison and abolish many of the detainee practices of the George W. The Obama administration is currently drafting "classified guidelines" to determine whether new captured terrorist suspects should be placed in long-term detention or whether they should be prosecuted.
The guidelines will also provide answers on where to hold them and how to interrogate them. Bagram air base in Afghanistan appears to be the favoured location, in part because prisoners there are denied access to United States courts. On June 9, , three prisoners at Guantanamo died suddenly and violently with Rear Admiral Harry Harris quick to declare the deaths "suicides. Evidence suggests that the Obama administration has failed to seriously investigate the deaths and may have continued a cover-up of the possible homicides of these prisoners.
The US Government has detained an unknown number of prisoners at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan since , some of whom have been held for up to six years without charge or a fair hearing. Concerned that Bagram has become the new Guantanamo, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed habeas corpus petitions to allow four prisoners access to lawyers and the opportunity to challenge in court the legality of their detention.
According to Senator Lindsey Graham, the White House is again considering a "preventative detention" statute to govern persons held at Guantanamo Bay. The proposed statute would assist in the closing of Guantanamo Bay and govern the detention of persons, by the US government, outside the criminal justice system. There is concern from Human Rights Watch that the statute would "turn the anomaly of Guantanamo Bay into a permanent legal norm" and would give future President's the unfettered authority to detain people without trial "not because they were captured on a military battlefield but because they are considered a threat against national security.
A study conducted by a group of UN Special Rapporteurs has concluded that "secret detention in connection with counterterrorist policies remains a serious problem. General David McKiernan was suddenly fired earlier in May over his failure to stop the escalating violence in Afghanistan. General McChrystal, also known as "the Pope," is notorious for promoting torture techniques in counterterrorism.
He has brought together military and intelligence operations to produce controversial battlefield results. The decision of the Obama administration to appoint McChrystal reflects a commitment to large scale, long term "special operations" involving further global military escalation. Barack Obama promised a major shift in U. However, after five months in office, Obama's policies seem to reflect considerable continuity with earlier administrations.
He has raised U. It is clear that U. During a speech in Mumbai, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband criticized the "war on terror" and qualified it as "misleading and mistaken. He praised diplomacy over a military response contrary to the position he held four years ago Guardian. The author of this article draws parallels between the attacks on Pearl Harbor by Japan in and the US invasion of Iraq in Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because it perceived the US as a threat to its national interest. According to the "preemptive war" doctrine, which the US used to justify the attack, the US has the right to use force whenever its interests may be threatened.
Both actions are breaches of international law, as the use of military force is illegal unless used in response to a prior attack.
Documents from a Global Debate on Terrorism, U.S. Policy, and the Middle East. Hardback $ Paperback $ eBook $ Summary. Summary. The Islam/West Debate: Documents from a Global Debate on Terrorism, U.S. Policy, and the Middle East [David Blankenhorn, Abdou Filali-Ansary, Hassan I.
Using this order, the US military has conducted nearly 12 previously undisclosed attacks. This broadened the ground rules in the "Global War on Terror" and also removed sensitive military operations from the previous process of oversight and review. The Bush administration assaults civil liberties under the guise of the "war on terror," and not many US citizens express alarm. With vague definitions of "terrorist" and "enemy combatant," police can arrest and imprison any US citizen based on suspicion and without evidence.
President Bush also abuses power in the executive branch by sidestepping the Supreme Court, weakening Congress, and disregarding the Constitution. With his exercise of arbitrary and undefined power, the US is "sliding toward dictatorship" and falling away from democracy. The US military holds detainees on secret "floating prisons", before transporting them to undisclosed detention centers, according to human rights organization Reprieve.
Reprieve reports that the US military keeps many of the prisoners in cages and subjects them to physical abuse. Since , the US has held approximately 80, detainees, 26, of which remain in secret prisons. This Global Research article argues that propaganda for the "war on terrorism" disregards the historical link between al-Qaeda and the US. The author argues that the "war on terrorism" is instead an excuse to expand US military domination.
With regard to its "acuity, its scope, and its likely duration," terrorism does not pose as great a threat as global warming, nuclear proliferation, disease, and conventional war. The authors claim that the Bush administration has used US citizens' fear to amplify the threat of terrorism and initiate a preventative war against it — a campaign as "meaningless" as "declaring war on serial murderers.
This excerpt from the book "Selling US Wars" by Tariq Ali analyzes the theories and mechanisms employed by the US to "ensure indirect domination" worldwide.
One of the justifications the US gives for the extension of its sphere of influence is the "global war on terror," which the author states is an unacceptable form of "political violence terror. Moreover, the author criticizes the use of "humanitarian intervention" and "democratization" as reasons for military invasions. This Foreign Policy in Focus article cites a growing trend towards unilateral military action as opposed to multilateral diplomacy in solving conflicts. This Oxford Research Group report argues that the main causes of conflict stem from global climate change, competition over resources, "marginalization of the majority world," and global militarism.
These issues, combined with a military approach to terrorism, and the spread of fear-inducing propaganda, detract from realistic peace-building solutions.
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The Marketing of Evil - David Kupelian. However, despite the lofty rhetoric about "freeing" the women of Afghanistan, the US-supported government of Hamid Karzai has not implemented policies to help women in any substantial way. The review must be at least 50 characters long. Political Islam in Post-Revolutionary Iran. However, as he calls for global cooperation, Obama has intensified the US war in Afghanistan and secret operations in the Middle East. Close Report a review At Kobo, we try to ensure that published reviews do not contain rude or profane language, spoilers, or any of our reviewer's personal information.
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