Tag Archives: military

Representative Government?

This is an interesting site that’s a rallying point for those opposed to current US anti-terrorist policies. While, I agree that we’re going too far, I do not believe it’s an issue of oil. Jerry says it better:

"I am very concerned about some of the privacy intrusions and some of the detainment policies of suspected terrorists, but I do not think of this as ‘war for oil’ transaction, and even most of the anti-war politicians do not stoop to such simplicity–if we want oil, we’ll drill in the ANWR or get it off the Russians. Sure the Iraqis have plenty, but the dangers and capital required are not good business. I do agree that we should protect the rights of those oppose ‘the war’, and we should not deem entire countries or peoples evil (regimes are a different matter!). This petition, therefore, is not in my name. :)"

Not In Our Name

The Not In Our Name Project is a national network of individuals and organizations committed to standing with the people of the world. As the Not in Our Name Pledge of Resistance states, "we believe that as people living in the United States it is our responsibility to resist the injustices done by our government, in our names." Our mission is to build, strengthen and expand resistance to stop the U.S. government’s entire course of war and repression being waged in the name of "fighting terrorism."

Caught in the Act

This article by Charles Krauthammer is valuable not for Krauthammer's support for an attack on Iraq (which I oppose) but with the journalistic games the New York Times is playing in its campaign against the invasion of Iraq. The NYT is an opinionated paper, and this is a good case-study in how it has been going about influencing public opinion not just with editorials (which are a great addition to a paper) but by selectively shading and presenting the facts (which is incompatible with freedom).

Who Turned Out the Lights?

“E-bomb” may see first combat use in Iraq

Weapons designed to attack electronic systems and not people could see their first combat use in any military attack on Iraq.

[…]

High Power Microwave (HPM) devices are designed to destroy electronic equipment in command, control, communications and computer targets and are available to the US military. They produce an electromagnetic field of such intensity that their effect can be far more devastating than a lighting strike.

Smart Bombs?

Flaws in U.S. Air War Left Hundreds of Civilians Dead

The American air campaign in Afghanistan, based on a high-tech, out-of-harm’s-way strategy, has produced a pattern of mistakes that have killed hundreds of Afghan civilians. On-site reviews of 11 locations where airstrikes killed as many as 400 civilians suggest that American commanders have sometimes relied on mistaken information from local Afghans. Also, the Americans’ preference for airstrikes instead of riskier ground operations has cut off a way of checking the accuracy of the intelligence. The reviews, over a six-month period, found that the Pentagon’s use of overwhelming force meant that even when truly military targets were located, civilians were sometimes killed. The 11 sites visited accounted for many of the principal places where Afghans and human rights groups claim that civilians have been killed.