Category: Middle East

Labor Briefing

By BILL ONASCH > Socialist Action members in Minneapolis write: “On Saturday, Oct. 10, over 400 enthusiastic participants joined a rally and march on U.S. bank in Northeast Minneapolis. U.S. Bank has actively lobbied against fair wages and treatment for workers and simultaneously financed dirty industries. The concurrent exploitation of workers and the earth is … Continue reading Labor Briefing →

U.S. imperialism imposes Iran nuke pact

By JEFF MACKLER  The U.S. credo with regard to Iran today might well read, “Only civilized nations and their leaders should have nuclear weapons!” Included in this U.S.-allied circle of civilized nuclear-weapons nations is India. But we hear no U.S. complaints regarding India’s racist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who essentially praised the communal murders of … Continue reading U.S. imperialism imposes Iran nuke pact →

Behind the Mass Exodus

By BARRY WEISLEDER  Unprecedented numbers of people are desperate to migrate. Stories fill the media about the many who drown in the Mediterranean or die in desserts in a failed bid to escape horrible conditions. Stunning figures released on June 18 by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees quantify the extent of the global … Continue reading Behind the Mass Exodus →

Turkish metalworkers strike

By YASIN KAYA The Renault autoworkers in Bursa, Turkey, halted production on May 15. Tofaş workers, who produce Fiat cars, stopped working the following day. The wildcat strikes spread to six other factories in the metal sector in Bursa. Several other factory workers in Bursa, Kocaeli, Ankara, and Sakarya either went on strike or protested … Continue reading Turkish metalworkers strike →

U.S. backs Saudi bombing of Yemen

By PAT LYONS “Once your clients have a quasi-independent military capacity, you lose some control over them,” said Gregory Gause III, a military specialist at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A and M University. Gause was referring to the saturation bombing campaign of Yemen by Saudi Arabia and its “coalition of … Continue reading U.S. backs Saudi bombing of Yemen →

Imperialism’s terrorist war in Syria

By JEFF MACKLER U.S. imperialism’s selective “War on Terrorism” excludes some terrorists that the Obama administration finds more than suitable as allies in its effort to bring down the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. On April 25, a combination of these “rebels” captured the city of Jisr al-Shoughour, the provincial capital and second largest city … Continue reading Imperialism’s terrorist war in Syria →

U.S. backs Yemen bombardment

BY JEFF MACKLER Backed by U.S. logistical and intelligence support, the Saudi Arabian petro-monarchy and its allies have pounded Yemen with devastating air strikes aimed at preparing the way for a possible ground invasion. Saudi Arabia’s “coalition of the willing” oil monarchs and other Saudi allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Arab League … Continue reading U.S. backs Yemen bombardment →

Obama launches new ‘war on terrorism’

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’ →

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 →

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 →

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! →

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 →

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! →

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 →

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 →

Seymour Hersh, false flags, and sarin gas

BY JEFF MACKLER When Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh published a report last year indicating that Syrian “rebels,” rather than the military forces of dictator Bashar Assad, fired deadly sarin gas missiles on Aug. 21, 2013, into the “rebel”-held town of Ghouta, a Damascus suburb, few took notice. Others responded with denunciations or efforts … Continue reading Seymour Hersh, false flags, and sarin gas →

Interview with Amazigh activist

Socialist Action conducted this interview with Nuunja Kahina (the pen name of an Amazigh activist) in late 2013. Imazighen (the plural form of Amazigh) are often called “Berbers.” Their language is Tamazight. The interview has been edited and shortened for publication. Socialist Action: What is the geographic distribution of Imazighen? Nuunja Kahina: The Amazigh lands, … Continue reading Interview with Amazigh activist →

Crisis within Turkey’s ruling bloc

By YASIN KAYA The Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office initiated a “corruption and bribery operation” on Dec. 17. About one week later, the Ministers of Economics, the Interior, and Urban Development all resigned after their sons were arrested. Events accelerated at a dizzying pace. Prime Minister Erdogan fired seven other ministers. The chief prosecutor was taken off … Continue reading Crisis within Turkey’s ruling bloc →