This one will do for that.
The American war machine: within and without, for and against
Fri, 2019-04-26 14:25
#52
Fri, 2019-04-26 15:53
#53
ISIS Attacks in DR Congo. A New Phase of a Western Scheme For Resource Plunder
https://blackagendareport.com/isis-attacks-dr-congo-new-phase-western-sc...
"The new president of the Democratic Republic of Congo is asking for US help to fend off an alleged ISIS threat..."
Wed, 2019-05-08 21:17
#54
Ex-NATO Commander Pushing Cold War Xenophobia To Line His Pockets - Jimmy Dore (and vid)
"Why is retired US Admiral James Stavridis writing Cold War propaganda in TIME magazine in 2019? The answer is simple, says comedian and political commentator Jimmy Dore: he makes bank doing it.
'He's ramping up the Cold War, because he works for The Carlyle Group, which makes a lot of money off the Cold War.' After retiring as Supreme Commander of NATO Forces in Europe, Stavridis just happened to land a very well-paying gig working for the multi-billion dollar private equity firm, which just so happens to get a nice chunk of cash from the $715 billion US defense budget..."
Sat, 2019-05-11 06:50
#55
TRNN: Pentagon Report on China's Military Expansion Hypocrisy: Col Lawrence Wilkerson
Col Lawrence Wilkerson discusses the hypocrisy in a Pentagon document which warns against Chinese espionage and the development of overseas strike ability, as a 'budget ploy'. Wilkerson, who served as former chief of staff to US Secretary of State Colin Powell, described in an interview with TRNN that hyping the Chinese threat taps into a well-trodden American pastime of fear-mongering in order to squeeze more precious taxpayer dollars towards inflated budgets.
Wilkerson said an increasingly aggressive US posture towards Beijing could create a 'self-fulfilling prophecy' amidst a trade war which paints both sides into a corner blindly bumbling toward war.
Sat, 2019-06-01 14:47
#56
Bipartisan Thirst For More War: 75% of Congress Calls on Trump to Boost Intervention in Syria
https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/1133038426150846464
"While Trump threatens Iran and Venezuela with new wars, 400 Congress members - including top Democratic Party leaders - signed a letter calling on the far-right president to intensify the eight-year war on Syria, in order to weaken Iran, Russia and Hezbollah."
The devil is in the duopoly...
Wed, 2019-06-05 15:12
#57
US Congressman Admits to War Crimes While Defending Navy Seal
"A US military judge has removed the lead prosecutor in the case of a Navy Seal accused of war crimes - due to possible conflict of interest."
The American warrior .
Wed, 2019-06-05 16:53
#58
US Gears Up For War With Iran
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/06/04/us-gears-up-for-war-with-iran-
"Can a state that condemns, without real justification, an international disarmament treaty it spent years negotiating then threaten a co-signatory with military aggression? Can it order other countries to fall into line with its capricious, bellicose stance or face punitive sanctions? The US can..."
Wed, 2019-06-05 18:49
#59
D-Day And The Myth of US Victory
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2019/06/d-day-and-the-myth-of-a-us-victory...
"Each D-Day anniversary the same question comes up. Who defeated Germany and its allies? The answer is, without any doubt, the Soviet Union..."
Wed, 2019-06-19 15:54
#60
Brian Becker: Exposed - The Pentagon's Cyberwar Against Russia
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/51793.htm
"The cyberwar against Russia began in 2012. During the past year the attacks have accelerated..."
Thu, 2019-06-20 10:29
#61
The open admission on mainstream US news sites that the US is trying to sabotage Russia's power grid is pretty startling. Perhaps it's incompetance, or just confidence, but there is not even a cursary attempt to maintain plausible deniability, or any semblance of respect for international law. It feels like something new in American foreign policy.
Counterpunch article on this, and the past problems with Venezuala's power grid:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/06/19/what-about-venezuelas-hacked-pow...
"If the Times is correct in both its articles, the current US hacking of Russia’s power grid is evidence of a US military establishment run amok.
Congress should be outraged and calling for immediate hearings to determine the chain of command that allowed this to happen. Either Trump is lying, and knows all about the hacking, or some high-ranking military officers who acted without his knowledge should be fired the way President Truman fired an insubordinate Gen. Douglas McArthur during the Korean War.
But of course that won’t happen. Trump might fire Gen. Jim Mattis as war secretary, and might fire Gen. H. R. McMaster, as National Security Advisor, but he’s not going to fire anyone for hacking Russia’s power grid, whether it’s Acting Secretary of “Defense” Patrick Shanahan or National Security Advisor John Bolton, the known war-mongerer who may well have been behind the order to do it. The Times itself didn’t even deign to run an editorial calling for heads to roll over the news of the dangerous provocation."
Sun, 2019-06-30 13:48
#62
Potential an important initiative as Koch and Soros money come together to finance a Washington institute advancing ending the endless war/endless meddling U.S. foreign policy.
Wed, 2019-07-03 03:52
#63
Democrats Back Trump's Massive 'WWIII' Military Budget
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/07/01/pent-j01.html
"For the third year in a row, the Democrats are voting for a massive increase in military spending to put at the disposal of the fascistic Trump administration money it can use, not just to launch wars, but also to create a police state in America. Senate Democrats voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve the largest Pentagon budget ever, rejecting calls to stop President Trump from building 'usable' nuclear weapons and retaliate for his misappropriation of Pentagon funds to carry out the crackdown on the border..."
Fri, 2019-07-05 09:57
#64
'Don't Blow Up' INF Treaty Over Disputes - Historian
Because Bolton, Pompeo and Trump believe such 'international treaties constrain the power of the United States' - Peter Kuznick.
Thu, 2019-07-11 15:31
#65
TRNN: Future Resource Wars (and vid)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/51890.htm
"Who are the masters of the universe? Pepe Escobar and Eddie Conway discuss the coming nexus of global competition and climate change..." MUST WATCH!
US Foreign Policy Is A War on Disobedience
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/51879.htm
"The nation that poses the greatest threat to US hegemony is of course China..."
Sun, 2019-07-14 13:40
#66
I'm not sure whether this exactly fits here, but Eric Margolis has an interesting piece about how Turkey's purchase of S-400 surface to air missiles from Russia reflects a significant loss of U.S. influence in eurasia generally.
S-400 missiles are now arriving in Turkey. What will Trump do? Cancel sale to Turkey of the F-35 and other military equipment or spare parts. Threaten to oust Turkey from NATO. Get Israel and Greece to menace Turkey.
Turkey can live without the F-35. It’s too expensive and may be more vulnerable than advertised. The Turks can get similar, less expensive warplanes from Russia. India and China are both buying the S-400. Even the Saudis may join them though Moscow is delaying the sale. S-400’s are also stationed in Syria with Russian forces and are slated to go to sea in a naval version.
If the US reacts with even more anger, Turkey could threaten to withdraw from NATO and kick the US out of its highly strategic air base in southeast Turkey at Incirlik. It’s worth recalling that Turkey provided NATO’s second largest army after the US. Someone has to remind the deeply unknowing Trump that NATO without Turkey will be declawed. Equally important, that a Turkey unconstrained by NATO membership, will seek sources of oil which it lacks and desperately needs, and new alliances.
Only a century ago, Iraq’s rich oil fields used to be part of the Ottoman Empire until taken away by the British and French imperial powers. The days of a subservient, tame Turkey may be ending.
Tue, 2019-07-23 20:04
#67
Trump: 'I Could Win Afghanistan War in one Week'
Donald Trump says he could quickly win the war on Afghanistan...However he also added that 'it would mean killing 10 million people."
'I'd like to speak directly to Canada's American friends and to my own many American friends who are here in this room. Let me begin by simply saying: Thank you. For the past 70 years and more, America has been the leader of the free world. We Canadians have been proud to stand at your side and have your back. As your closest friend, ally and neighbour...since the end of the Second World War, we have built a system that championed freedom and democracy..."
2018 Diplomat of the Year, Canadian FM Chrystia Freeland. This is the shameful state of Canadian foreign policy. Abject and obscene collaboration with this ugly empire. Resist don't collaborate.
Mon, 2019-07-29 19:21
#68
'United States' to Imperial America: Our Hidden Empire (and vid)
Abby Martin interviews historian Daniel Immerwahr.
Wed, 2019-07-31 16:15
#69
Watching The Hawks (Ep 1015 & vid)
https://www.rt.com/shows/watching-the-hawks/465444-afghanistan-civilian-...
$1.48 TRILLION US Defence Budget passed. We analyze the state of defense spending at the Pentagon.
This is a war budget.
Fri, 2019-08-02 08:43
#70
Senate Democrats Approve Trump War Budget
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/02/budg-a02.html
"The US Senate passed a budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct 1 that includes a record $738 billion for the military. The budget was the product of an agreement between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Trump White House, reflecting bipartisan support for the American war machine. Senate Democrats gave far more support to the Trump-Pelosi budget than Republicans, voting for it by 38-5...
If the Democrats had voted against the budget by any significant margin it would have been defeated. Of the seven Democratic senators running for president, four were absent from the vote including Bernie Sanders, who declared during the Democratic debate in Detroit that he would vote against the record military budget, but did not bother to return to Washington to cast his vote on Thursday. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker were also absent..."
Wed, 2019-08-07 22:53
#71
TRNN: Anniversary of Atomic Bombing of Japan (and vid)
"Nuclear threat more immediate than ever..."
Tue, 2019-08-20 15:12
#72
US Missile Test Threatens Russia - Cold War Historian
"As Washington conducts its test of a hitherto banned cruise missile, officials in Moscow and Beijing are accusing the US of starting a new arms race..."
Thu, 2019-08-29 10:51
#73
The Real Big Brother
https://consortiumnews.com/2019/08/29/the-real-big-brother/
"...With the help of the war promotion of The Washington Post, Bezos is one of the world's top personal sellers to the US military-industrial complex. He controls and is the biggest investor in Amazon corporation, where Web Services division supplies all cloud-computing services to the Pentagon, CIA and NSA. (He's leading the charge in the most advanced facial recognition technology too.)
The war-pig oligarchs are NOT our friends. Nor their media.
Thu, 2019-08-29 17:10
#74
New Bases To Counter China?
"Indo-Pacific is new priority region for the US..."
Wed, 2019-09-11 22:01
#75
Escobar: We Are All Hostages of 911
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/52245.htm
"After years of reporting on the Great War [OF] Terror, many questions behind the US attacks remain unresolved. Eighteen years after the game-changing fact, we all remain hostages..."
Thu, 2019-09-12 17:47
#76
(1) Hiroshima, (2)Nagasaki and (3)...?
New York city, Sep. 11, 2001 for starters.
Not if we're talking nuclear strikes.
Wed, 2019-09-25 07:11
#77
"Reports of Wedding Party bombing indicate US Forces have massacred at least 70 Afghan civilians in one week..."
"...Earlier this year, the UN said that US-backed forces killed more Afghan civilians than the Taliban and other anti-government groups did in the first three months of 2019."
Russia Accuses US of Transferring Daesh to Northern Afghanistan
https://twitter.com/Russ_Warrior/status/1176479944144302080
"US special services are involved in transferring ISIS militants to northern regions of Afghanistan with the aim of destabilizing the situation on the borders with CSTO..."
Mon, 2019-11-04 07:28
#78
US Seeking To Wreck Entire Arms Control System - Lavrov
https://tass.com/politics/1086653
"Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said that 'the international community will ultimately speak up in favor of saving the system that ensures strategic stability..."
Don't count on Canada.
Tue, 2020-01-14 00:03
#79
Rolling Stone: 'Trump Brags About Serving Up American Troops To Saudi Arabia For Nothing More Than Cash'
https://twitter.com/timand2037/status/1216918976439017472
"Trump said to the Saudis - 'You want more troops? I'm going to send them to you, but you've got to pay us. They've already deposited $1 billion in the bank.' US Army bought and sold."
Wed, 2020-01-22 10:24
#80
By Gordon Duff and New Eastern Outlook, Moscow (Est. 1816)
President Trump, and not obliquely, has put the assassination of Vladimir Putin “on the table” as part of a new policy, one at direct odds with both American and international law. This isn’t just a broad policy against those Washington deems enemies, but Russia was specifically listed as a target for highest level assassinations in order to achieve regime change.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during a policy address at Stanford University’s Hoover Institute on January 13, 2020, outlined the new policy. The title of the speech
.Only recently, after being suppressed for 50 years, has Herbert Hoover’s World War II analysis, “Freedom Betrayed,” been published, by the Hoover Institution. In that work, the “betrayal” was entering the war against Hitler and fighting alongside Russia.
You see, TDC or “top dead center” for American conservatives has always been the destruction of Russia and the subjugation of the Russian people on behalf of the Deep State.
In his Hoover Institute address, Pompeo clearly stated that an attack on Russia, on its leadership and even President Putin, was very much a part of the new American policy under his leadership.
He further clarified, “The importance of deterrence isn’t confined to Iran. In all cases, we must defend freedom. That’s the whole point of President Trump’s work to make our military the strongest it has ever been.”
This was, of course, before Iranian missiles easily punched through America’s Patriot Missile defenses in a humiliating attack with, according to Trump “no casualties.” On January 16, 2020, however, the Pentagon announced that 11 members of the US military serving at the Assad Air Base had been evacuated to Landstuhl, Germany in order to be treated for wounds.
Trump lied, but nothing compared to the wild threats from Pompeo against a nation whose nuclear strategic arsenal significantly overshadows that of the United States, certainly qualitatively and in that area, overwhelmingly.
“The destruction of Suleimani is an example of a new US strategy aimed at deterring its opponents. This applies equally to Iran, China and Russia.
The states are now realizing the possibilities of the strongest position that we have ever had with regard to Iran. We are just holding it back for now. But in order to truly protect freedom, it is important to restrain all enemies. That’s the whole point of President Trump’s work. That’s why he is trying so hard to make our army the strongest it has ever been.”
When Secretary of State Pompeo, after months of planning, pushed through the drone assassination of Iran’s General Soleimani, chief architect of the ground war against ISIS, little did he expect Iran’s reaction?
When, only days later, Iran obliterated America’s largest base in the Middle East with a devastating ballistic missile attack, forcing the US to back down and seek more sanctions.
The real issue is how much of the Pompeo rhetoric is real and to what extent Pompeo and Trump are bluffing. One thing that has become clear, however, is that both Trump and even Pompeo, a graduate of West Point’s infamous “Class of 1986,” a hot-bed of Russophobic extremists called “the West Point Mafia,” are not schooled in the realities of warfare.
Conclusion
Is Pompeo’s statement to the Russia hating establishment, an open threat against a foreign leader, carelessness, hubris or insanity?
Is President Trump ready to back Pompeo, as he did with the disastrous Soleimani killing?
We then have to ask, how can such statements be made with no pushback from congress or the media, not a single word? Has America become suicidal?
Wed, 2020-01-22 14:34
#81
This was, of course, before Iranian missiles easily punched through America’s Patriot Missile defenses in a humiliating attack ....
When, only days later, Iran obliterated America’s largest base in the Middle East with a devastating ballistic missile attack, forcing the US to back down and seek more sanctions.
The bases are damaged yes -- obliterated no.
More important, all these propaganda and conspiracy sites speaking about missiles getting throught the US defences. The only problem is of course the claim that the US had a missile shield over Iraq. Nobody before now has claimed they had it or claimed they had enough patriot missiles to do it -- even if they moved their global supply there.
Breathlessly stating "humiliating attack" comes form the bogus claim that this was a failure of something in place when there is no basis that such a system was in place.
The grain of truth behind this is also connected to a lie: The Patriot missile is a long derided and questionned experiment. One reason why the US does not have capacity to provide a shield over Iraq is becuase these systems are expensive and unproven. In other words, the US is investing in them but only to a certian degree becuase the tech is not there yet. There are scadles about how much has been spent on soemthing unproven.
There are no illusions or claims by the US that this sytem was in place to be punched through.
That Iran can hit Iraq with missiles is not humiliating but geography and the present levle of technology.
Sun, 2020-06-28 08:59
#82
This Russia-Afghanistan Story is Western Propaganda At Its Most Vile
https://mobile.twitter.com/caitoz/status/1277072954782740481
All western msm media outlets are now shrieking about the story The New York Times reported, citing zero evidence and naming zero sources. It is unprincipled stenography for opaque and unaccountable intelligence agencies, and it is disgusting..."
Afghanistan War Exposed: An Imperial Conspiracy
"Abby Martin covers the whole truth about the Afghanistan War; from the CIA construct of the 80s through today's senseless stalemate. Two decades, three administrations, tens of thousands of lives, it's time to end The Forever War..."
Mon, 2020-06-29 11:24
#83
"Curious that allegations re Russia giving Taliban $ to kill US soldiers come just in time to sabotage talks re the last nuclear treaty between the US and Russia, the withdrawal of more US troops from Afghanistan and peace in Syria. Sounds like fake news to me."
https://twitter.com/medeabenjamin/status/1277362775254355968
Sat, 2020-07-25 19:56
#84
Ronald Wright: What is America?
Thu, 2020-08-27 22:48
#85
Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute 2016: Christopher Black
"Limited and Absolute War/Clausewitz and NATO Aggression/Theory and Reality"
Sat, 2020-09-05 14:03
#86
American Exceptionalism: A Discussion of the Book with Danny Haiphong & Richard Medhurst
"...As we make clear in the book, the Democratic Party is the engine of American exceptionalism right now... But when it comes to imperialism there is no wavering on that. And the Democratic Party makes that very clear. The War Machine must not only be protected and sanctified but it has to be expanded. And if you're not on board with that, then you're not in Washington DC."
Sun, 2020-09-06 18:03
#87
'Yankee Fuck Off - Go Home!' (and vid)
https://twitter.com/MO_CH81/status/1302101431755964416
"Syrian children playing in their land as usual, only this time there is a new American army base that is intercepting their childhood."
Thu, 2021-04-15 00:07
#88
Trudeau's refusal to sign UN nuclear ban is hypocritical and unpopular
https://yvesengler.com/2021/04/13/trudeaus-refusal-to-sign-un-nuclear-ba...
"The Trudeau government says its international affairs are driven by a belief in an 'international rules-based order' and 'feminist foreign policy' yet they refuse to sign a nuclear treaty that directly advances these stated principles."
Because Washington wishes it so.
Thu, 2021-04-15 00:12
#89
Report on Human Rights Violations in the US in 2020
https://twitter.com/ChinaEmbOttawa/status/1381749471105662979
"China's State Council Information Office on Wednesday issued the report on Human Rights violations in the US in 2020. Full text.
'I can't breathe!' - George Floyd
Thu, 2021-04-15 00:58
#90
Big Corporations Deploy Woke Ideology the Way Intelligence Agencies Do: As a Disguise
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1382024857626501122
"By draping itself in the finery of political activism, the corporatist class consolidates political power, corrupts democracy and distracts from its real function..."
Thu, 2021-04-15 13:23
#91
Report on Human Rights Violations in the US in 2020
https://twitter.com/ChinaEmbOttawa/status/1381749471105662979
"China's State Council Information Office on Wednesday issued the report on Human Rights violations in the US in 2020. Full text.
'I can't breathe!' - George Floyd
This report shows China has had enough of US propaganda about human rights and is no longer willing to be treated like a child to be scolded over human rights issues that the US only pays lip service to at home.
There are some interesting facts in the report.
The handicapped and the homeless were in dire straits. A study released in November 2020 by the nonprofit FAIR Health found that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are three times more likely to die of COVID-19, compared to the general population.
Fri, 2021-04-16 05:11
#92
'We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to every US and Coalition servicemember who served in Afghanistan' - Bernie Sanders
https://twitter.com/Louis_Allday/status/1382626909595561984
"This perfectly encapsulates Sanders' brand of chauvinistic social imperialism. His mention of Afghan civilians - people killed by the very forces he extols in the same tweet - merely a shallow afterthought in an [failed] attempt to maintain some sense of balance or being critical."
Fri, 2021-04-16 05:26
#93
The US war in Afghanistan: A historic crime
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/04/16/pers-a16.html
"Biden is the third American president to promise to end the war in Afghanistan. But Biden's announcement provides an occasion for drawing a balance sheet of the longest war in the history of the United States, one which has produced incalculable suffering for the people of Afghanistan, squandered vast resources and brutalized American society..."
Wed, 2021-04-21 18:08
#94
Margaret Kimberley: Gun Violence Starts at the Top
https://www.blackagendareport.com/freedom-rider-gun-violence-starts-top
"...If the state reserves the right to commit mass murder no one should be surprised that the people follow suit. They are taught that their violent country is exceptionally good, fair, benevolent and democratic. The US leads the world in military spending and brings wars home by militarising local police. Of course the bloodletting doesn't end. It would be shocking if it did.
Biden has proposed increased defense spending to $753 billion and after the rhetorical dust settles there will be a bipartisan congressional consensus to approve what he wants. The same people who express shock when an individual goes on a killing spree in this country are silent when their government is responsible for killings around the world.
It is all connected. State sanctioned violence tells the people that individual violence is just fine. The hand-wringing over the latest shooting doesn't mean anything if the wars and law enforcement brutality continue..."
Thu, 2021-04-22 14:40
#95
"Besides nuclear, the military-industrial complex also needs cobalt and rare-earth metals for many of its advanced weapons. So now we can begin to see the reason behind the push for small modular reactors used in off-grid mining in Canada.
We're being told the cobalt and other minerals will mainly be for electric vehicles, but in reality the US is desperate for the minerals for weaponry. The minerals have been deemed 'critical for national defense' by Washington..."
Nelson: For real climate change, let's look at the military elephant in the room
https://rabble.ca/news/2021/04/real-climate-action-lets-look-military-el...
Thu, 2021-04-29 20:29
#96
Australian Government Upgrades Northern Military Bases Following 'Drums of War' Call
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/04/29/usau-a29.html
"Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday announced a revamped $747 million package to overhaul four strategic military facilities in the Northern Territory, clearly in preparation for a US-instigated war against China. The announcement came just two days after Home Affairs Department secretary Michael Pezzullo issued an extraordinary public warning that the 'drums of war are beating' and the country must be prepared 'to send off, yet again, our warriors to the fight,' as in WWI &II.
Morrison said the 'investment was part of an $8billion fund dedicated to 'defence infrastructure' in the Northern Territory over the next decade. That underscores the importance of Australian bases for US war plans. The upgrades include 'urban assault' and 'urban operations' facilities, indicating the training of troops for urban-warfare, and for use domestically to suppress unrest, including anti-war resistance and protests..."
More signs of the coming war with China and the apparent willingness of US vassal regimes to recklessly endanger their own people and interests to please the Imperial masters in Warshington. Will Canadian progressives register these ominous indicators, organize and respond in time?
Mon, 2021-05-03 03:13
#97
New Revelations on Germ Warfare: It's time for a reckoning with our history from the Korean War
https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/04/09/new-revelations-on-germ-warfare-...
"...Denials fade away in the face of new unassailable documentation from US government records of germ warfare attacks against North Korean and Chinese military units.
If we expect change in China and North Korea, then there must be a change in the United States. Perhaps a President Joe Biden will consider revising a policy that has not worked for decades, and as part of a general peace offensive in the region, finally admit American responsibility for its actions, including use of biological weapons."
Mon, 2021-05-03 03:53
#98
The Heat: Oliver Stone on history of US Intervention
"In a one-on-one interview with The Heat, film director Oliver Stone talks about US foreign policy and the history of US interventions. 'Wherever we go to 'help', we stay."
Mon, 2021-05-03 13:41
#99
Beware of the armed man whose first words are, "I come in peace."
Mon, 2021-05-03 22:21
#100
Why Afghanistan/Xinjiang? (and vid)
https://twitter.com/DanielDumbrill/status/1290456155286900737
"Former chief of staff to US Sec-State Colin Powell, and retired Army Colonel Lawrence B Wilkerson on Xinjiang [and Afghanistan]."
Like Clockwork...
https://twitter.com/DanielDumbrill/status/1388700285283946496
"The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee is proposing millions of dollars of funding for media which reports on the 'negative impact' of Belt and Road projects."
Fri, 2021-05-07 04:51
#101
Pepe Escobar: An empire in love with its Afghan cemetery
https://thesaker.is/an-empire-in-love-with-its-afghan-cemetery/
"...All these embarrassing facts disappear under the shadow play of 2,500 'official' departing troops. What really matters is who's staying: by no means just a few out of some 17,000 'contractors', over 6,000 of whom are American citizens..."