By JEFF MACKLER In a short-lived but well-crafted move aimed at hyping President Obama’s credentials as a reasonable and democratic warmaker, the president submitted a resolution to Congress in mid-February requesting “authorization for use of force” to proceed full tilt with his administration’s now worldwide “war on [Islamic] terrorism.” At first glance, what struck his … Continue reading Obama launches new ‘war on terrorism’
Category: Anti-War
U.S. & NATO: Hands off Ukraine!
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER — UPDATED, MARCH 5 — The danger of direct Western military intervention in Ukraine remains palpable following the rebels’ dramatic seizure of Debaltseve in mid-February. The Obama administration, which has already sent over $118 million in “non-lethal” equipment to Ukraine, is deliberating whether to contribute heavy weaponry, or even troops, to the … Continue reading U.S. & NATO: Hands off Ukraine!
A brief history of political Islam
By U. KHAN YUSUFZAI At the time of this writing, the United States has been at war in Afghanistan for 13 years and in Iraq for 11 years. The United States has been engaged in a global drone bombing campaign since 2001 in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya. The Arab Spring has opened up a … Continue reading A brief history of political Islam
‘Advantages’ of CIA torture?
BY JEFF MACKLER While mass murder via “legally approved” wars remains the weapon of choice of today’s imperial conquerors—especially the United States—torture, conducted properly and legally and with the help of modern science, does have its advantages. Or so we are given to understand. The forme moderne now practiced by the CIA and defined as … Continue reading ‘Advantages’ of CIA torture?
Charlie Hebdo: Imperialism’s new 9/11?
BY JEFF MACKLER The Jan. 7 Paris bombings and shootings afforded French and allied capitalist heads of state—some 50 presidents and prime ministers plus top U.S. officials, all complicit with mass murder—the opportunity for an unprecedented show of unity under the call of “I am Charlie Hebdo.” We note the hypocrisy of the perpetrators of … Continue reading Charlie Hebdo: Imperialism’s new 9/11?
Judges question NYPD spying on Muslims
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER PHILADELPHIA—Federal judges in a Jan. 13 appeals court hearing have indicated that they are favorable to the premises of a suit against the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for its surveillance of Muslims in New Jersey. The suit, Hassan v. City of New York, had been dismissed by a federal district … Continue reading Judges question NYPD spying on Muslims
Militarized police aimed at Black America
By MARTY GOODMAN The military weapons we saw on display in Ferguson, Mo., are part of the militarization of police forces across the U.S. Its roots began with the SWAT teams under Democrat Lyndon Johnson, whose war of extermination against the Black Panther Party was continued under Republican Richard Nixon. As Michelle Alexander explains in … Continue reading Militarized police aimed at Black America
Why so much ado about ‘The Interview’?
By BARRY WEISLEDER Hollywood, Wall Street, and the White House are celebrating the release, albeit delayed and via the internet and small cinemas, of the third-rate comedy “The Interview.” The film is about a plot to assassinate the leader of North Korea. Pyongyang took exception to the idea, and threatened to retaliate, which set off a … Continue reading Why so much ado about ‘The Interview’?
Mumia Abu-Jamal: Making torture legal
By MUMIA ABU-JAMAL In the week of the Senate Intelligence Select Committee’s report on CIA torture of terror suspects, we’re reminded how little Americans know about how the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency rolls in the real world. Predictably, the 500-page summary of a 6700-page report erupted into a political and media firestorm. Networks and cable … Continue reading Mumia Abu-Jamal: Making torture legal
Rasmea Odeh found guilty
Rasmea Defense Committee statement — In a travesty of justice, Rasmea Odeh today was found guilty of one count of Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization. For over a year, Rasmea, her supporters, and her legal team have been battling this unjust government prosecution, saying from the start that the immigration charge was nothing but a pretext … Continue reading Rasmea Odeh found guilty
Justice for Rasmea Odeh!
UPDATED REPORTS FROM THE TRIAL: Socialist Action has received the following on-the-scene reports from the Rasmea Defense Committee. We express our solidarity with Rasmea Odeh, who was arrested in October 2013 for allegedly falsifying papers she had filled out for immigration to the United States. Previously, she had been imprisoned by Israel, who accused her … Continue reading Justice for Rasmea Odeh!
‘Vietnam’: Riveting but flawed documentary
By GAETANA CALDWELL-SMITH “The Last Days of Vietnam,” a documentary film produced and directed by Rory Kennedy. Director Rory Kennedy, daughter of environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy, has created a riveting and heartwarming, yet heartbreaking, full-length documentary film, “The Last Days of Vietnam,” which takes place in South Vietnam from 1973 to 1975, the last … Continue reading ‘Vietnam’: Riveting but flawed documentary
U.S. imperialism bombs Syria & Iraq
By JEFF MACKLER A new coalition of the not-too-willing nations is in preparation as U.S. imperialism prepares for yet another war in the Middle East, its sixth or seventh in the past half decade. These include wars of conquest, resource exploitation, and covert bombings in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, and Egypt—where the U.S., … Continue reading U.S. imperialism bombs Syria & Iraq
World condemns Israeli slaughter in Gaza
By JEFF MACKLER Five hundred and sixteen children are among the over 2200 Gaza Palestinians murdered by the racist, Zionist, apartheid settler state of Israel. An estimated 75-80 percent of the Palestinians slaughtered were civilians. Some 1.8 million Palestinians “live” in perhaps the world’s largest prison, Gaza, virtually unable to enter or leave, starved and … Continue reading World condemns Israeli slaughter in Gaza
U.S. aids brutal attack on eastern Ukraine
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER Civilian casualties are quickly mounting as U.S.-supported Ukrainian troops redouble their offensive to capture the country’s rebellious eastern provinces. United Nations officials put the death toll in the region since mid-June at over 1500 civilians and combatants, with 3500 wounded. More than 285,000 people have been displaced from their homes in the … Continue reading U.S. aids brutal attack on eastern Ukraine
Stop the Israeli invasion of Gaza!
By JEFF MACKLER — UPDATED AUG. 3, 2014 — End U.S. aid to apartheid Israel! Stop the Zionist bombing of Gaza! The U.S.-backed racist, colonialist, apartheid Zionist entity known as Israel is once again saturation bombing the Palestinian people and destroying the infrastructure of the world’s largest open air prison—the Gaza Strip—a slip of land roughly … Continue reading Stop the Israeli invasion of Gaza!
Gaza protesters overcome French ban
INTERVIEW by CHRIS HUTCHINSON Over 600 people are dead in Gaza, and millions of workers around the world are speaking out against Israel's brutal assault on the Gaza Strip. Workers everywhere are standing against genocide and apartheid as well as demanding justice for Palestinians living under military occupation. In London one march reported 100,000 participants. … Continue reading Gaza protesters overcome French ban
Israel out of Gaza! Justice for Palestine!
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER As we go to press on July 17, Israel has undertaken a ground invasion of the beleaguered Palestinian enclave of Gaza. Naval gunships, drones, helicopters, and F-16 fighters have kept up a constant bombardment of the territory to accompany the assault by infantry and tanks. Israel has called up at least 50,000 … Continue reading Israel out of Gaza! Justice for Palestine!
NY award gala mocks Haitian misery
By MARTY GOODMAN On June 19, a quickly called protest was organized against a glitzy award gala in Manhattan that featured a “Leadership in Education” award for the corrupt and repressive Haitian president, Michel “Sweet Mickey” Martelly. On the same program, a “Lifetime Achievement Award” went to Martelly’s political patron, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, … Continue reading NY award gala mocks Haitian misery
Court releases Dr. Sami Al-Arian
Political prisoner Dr. Sami Al-Arian is free! Al-Arian, a computer-engineering professor at the University of South Florida and nationally known as an activist in the struggle for civil liberties for the Muslim and Palestinian American community, has been jailed for over 11 years on spurious charges related to his support for the struggle for Palestinian … Continue reading Court releases Dr. Sami Al-Arian
Iraq uprising detonates new civil war
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER — UPDATED JULY 4 — The current conflict in Iraq gathered momentum with seemingly amazing speed as an armed coalition of secular and religious Sunni groups, spearheaded by the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, an al-Qaeda splinter grouping), wrested about a third … Continue reading Iraq uprising detonates new civil war
Bergdahl’s release has right wing fuming
By BARRY SHEPPARD Since the Obama administration arranged for the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the last U.S. prisoner of war held by the Afghanistan Taliban, there has been a firestorm of outrage from the right wing of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Bergdahl has been pilloried as a traitor. His father has been … Continue reading Bergdahl’s release has right wing fuming
No to war; yes to veterans’ needs
By BILL ONASCH American socialists, in the tradition of the great Eugene V. Debs, oppose wars fought to advance the corporate and financial agenda of the American ruling capitalist class. That’s all of them since the last just war—the Civil War that eliminated slavery. But while we object to the way they are used, we … Continue reading No to war; yes to veterans’ needs
Kidnapped girls tools of U.S. imperial policy
By GLEN FORD (From Black Agenda Report) A chorus of outraged public opinion demands that the “international community” and the Nigerian military “Do something!” about the abduction by Boko Haram of 280 teenage girls. It is difficult to fault the average U.S. consumer of packaged “news” products for knowing next to nothing about what the … Continue reading Kidnapped girls tools of U.S. imperial policy
On recent events in Iraq
By FALWAH ALWAN (Reprinted from Jadaliyya) Mosul and other cities in Iraq are experiencing dramatic, dangerous, and fateful changes. The media, especially that which is allied with the Iraqi government and western states, has been focusing on the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant/Syria (ISIS) and its control over several Iraqi cities, provoking its … Continue reading On recent events in Iraq