u.s. military facing sexual abuse crisis

With the second member of the military’s campaign to stem sexual misconduct falling under investigation — for alleged sexual misconduct — critics were quick to lambast Pentagon brass for “gross negligence” and for maintaining an internal system of investigation and discipline that appears to be in desperate need of being ripped down and rebuilt with fresh independence and transparency.

An Army sergeant who was part of the Fort Hood, Texas, sexual-assault response office is under investigation for forcing a female soldier into prostitution.

NPR’s Larry Abramson is reporting on the story for our Newscast unit:

“The Army refused to release the name of the sergeant first class, who was part of the response team at Fort Hood, Texas, dealing with sexual assault cases. The man faces accusations of pandering, abusive sexual contact, assault and maltreatment of subordinates. The sergeant was suspended from all duties, and has not been charged. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel ordered the Army to investigate.”

In a statement, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said the Senate Armed Services Committee, which he chairs, is considering ways to counter the problem of sexual abuse in the military.

- from NPR news

Investigators in Fort Hood, Texas, are looking into allegations that an Army sergeant sexually assaulted three female soldiers and forced one into prostitution. This is only the latest in a string of military sexual assault scandals that has lawmakers demanding answers.

Nancy Parrish, president of the victims advocacy group Protect Our Defenders, agreed that “the Pentagon is responsible for failing to effectively govern its personnel,” following news that a Fort Hood Army sergeant first class allegedly forced at least one subordinate soldier into prostitution and sexually assaulted two others.

-found this on a forum in lipstick alley, U.S. military faces historic tipping point on rape epidemic

Military Sex Abuse Prevention Official Ran On-Base Prostitution Ring

Last week’s story of the US Air Force’s Chief Sexual Assault Prevention and Response officer being arrested for sexual assault may have been embarrassing, but it seems to have been the tip of the iceberg.

Today’s story features a much worse incident in the Army, with reports that the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) coordinator for Fort Hood was caught running an on-base prostitution ring and sexually abusing female soldiers under his command. He was also accused of forcing subordinate female soldiers into prostitution.

The soldier was identified as Sgt. First Class Gregory McQueen, and in the face of allegations ranging from sexual abuse to pimping and misuse of power, he has been suspending from his duties, though officials maintain he has yet to actually be charged with crimes related to this.

Officials familiar with the situation say Sgt. McQueen got his start when he persuaded a private under his command to sell sexual favors to other soldiers. The ring grew but he was finally caught after he approached another private as a potential recruit and sexually assaulted her when she refused to be a prostitute. She reported the attack to military officials.

- from anti-war.com

msnbc’s melissa harris-perry has something to say about this, but i can’t embed the video, so here’s the link. there’s a video from two days ago on this topic below.

Head Of Sexual-Harassment Program at Fort Campbell, Ky., has been arrested in a domestic dispute and has been relieved of his post.

“Lt. Col. Darin Haas turned himself in to police late Wednesday on charges of violating an order of protection and stalking. A spokesman for the post on the Tennessee-Kentucky line say Haas was immediately removed as manager of a program meant to prevent sexual harassment and assault and encourage equal opportunity.” – from AP report

Haas and his former wife have orders of protection against each other, but she said he repeatedly contacted her Wednesday night despite the order.

-from npr news, Head Of Sexual-Harassment Program At Fort Campbell Arrested

to see an updated account of this ongoing scandal, see family survival protocol’s microcosm news, General: “We have a problem with respect for women…”

Inside the military’s culture of sex abuse, denial and cover-up

The first thing Petty Officer 2nd Class Rebecca Blumer realized upon waking was that she was freezing cold and naked. The second thing was that her body ached all over. Blumer groggily scanned the unfamiliar room for clues. She saw a concrete floor splotched with vomit, a metal door and a window onto a hallway, where a woman in an orange jumpsuit was sweeping.

“Where am I?” Blumer called hoarsely.

“Richmond County jail,” the inmate told her.

Blumer shivered. “I need to see a doctor,” she whispered.

The woman nodded. “You’ve been screaming that all night.”

Blumer sat back in shock. She was a normally cheerful 23-year-old Navy intelligence analyst stationed at Fort Gordon, a vast Army base of 15,000 military employees in Augusta, Georgia. Blumer, whose job was to sift through top-secret data, was part of a thousand-­member naval unit. The night before, February 12th, 2010, she and some friends had gone to a bar not far from base for a couple of beers. Three Army guys – one with light hair, the other two dark-haired – had sent Blumer a shot of Jägermeister, a drink she didn’t care much for but had downed anyway. The light-haired man had rounded the bar to talk to her. The last thing ­Blumer remembered was being overwhelmed by a dizzy, sluggish feeling, her limbs and head too heavy to lift, the ­noises in the bar rising up and caving in on her. Only later would Blumer find out the rest: that at 1:40 a.m., police had noticed her driving with her headlights off. That she’d barely been able to stand upright during her field sobriety test, but when placed under arrest she’d gone berserk, trying to break free of the police car and screaming incoherently. In jail, she’d yelled for a doctor and fought with the cops so ­wildly that she’d been hosed down in an effort to quiet her. Now, crouching in her cell with a swollen jaw; bruises smudging her wrists, ankles and neck; her abdomen sore inside; and her lower back and buttocks afire with what felt like rug burn, it dawned on ­Blumer. She’d been roofied and raped.

-from rollingstone, The Rape of Petty Officer Blumer

Melissa Harris-Perry asks, have we reached the turning point? Congresswoman Jackie Speier, Executive Director of Servicewoman’s Action Network Anu Bhagwati and Rolling Stone editor Sabrina Erdely discuss the dramatic rise in sexual assault and rape in the military reported in a new Pentagon report.

afghan legislature refuses to pass law against islamic trafficking of girls, women

Stop using women as an excuse to continue the war in Afghanistan

according to religious leaders in afghanistan, it is a man’s – any man’s – right to treat women like commodities to be swapped around until someone decides they are no longer needed and kills them. so glad i’ve never lived in an islamic nation. what an evil religion!

Measures would have banned violence against women, child marriages

Conservative religious lawmakers in Afghanistan blocked legislation on Saturday aimed at strengthening provisions for women’s freedoms, arguing that parts of it violate Islamic principles and encourage disobedience.

The law would have banned force marriages and the tradition of ‘baad’ which exchanges girls and women to settle disputes. (Anja Niedringhaus/Associated Press)

The Law on Elimination of Violence Against Women has been in effect since 2009, but only by presidential decree. It is being brought before parliament now because lawmaker Fawzia Kofi, a women’s rights activist, wants to cement it with a parliamentary vote to prevent its potential reversal by any future president who might be tempted to repeal it to satisfy hard-line religious parties.

The law criminalizes, among other things, child marriage and forced marriage, and bans “baad,” the traditional practice of exchanging girls and women to settle disputes. It makes domestic violence a crime punishable by up to three years in prison and specifies that rape victims should not face criminal charges for fornication or adultery.

Kofi, who plans to run for president in next year’s elections, said she was disappointed because among those who oppose upgrading the law from presidential decree to legislation passed by parliament are women.

Afghanistan’s parliament has more than 60 female lawmakers, mostly due to constitutional provisions reserving certain seats for women.

Khalil Ahmad Shaheedzada, a conservative lawmaker for Herat province, said the legislation was withdrawn shortly after being introduced in parliament because of an uproar by religious parties who said parts of the law are un-Islamic.

“Whatever is against Islamic law, we don’t even need to speak about it,” Shaheedzada said.

Lawmaker Shaheedzada also claimed that the law might encourage disobedience among girls and women, saying it reflected Western values not applicable in Afghanistan.

“Even now in Afghanistan, women are running from their husbands. Girls are running from home,” Shaheedzada said. “Such laws give them these ideas.”

For five years, the regime banned women from working and going to school, or even leaving home without a male relative. In public, all women were forced wear a head-to-toe burqa, which covers even the face with a mesh panel. Violators were publicly flogged or executed.

‘We cannot have an Islamic country with basically Western laws.’—Afghan President Hamid Karzai

from the canadian broadcast corporation, Afghan legislators block law protecting women

unescorted afghan women hustle through a cemetery, hoping to avoid the taliban or religious police who might kill them for being outdoors without a male owner.

The law withdrawn Saturday was passed by presidential decree in 2009 but never gained parliamentary approval. (Rahmat Gul/Associated Press)

every time the plight of women in afghanistan becomes an international issue, i like to take advantage of the situation to call attention to the revolutionary association of the women of afghanistan – a an organization of brave, determined women who risk their lives to provide healthcare, employment opportunities, and education for women and girls. they are regularly killed by taliban and religious militias.

the story of mena, one of their founders, is inspiring and horrible. just remember as you read about her that our tax dollars went to hunt her down, capture, torture and kill her. her nemesis – throughout her life – was an afghan warlord who the u.s. government gave billions of dollars to, over the course of his career as a woman-hating, murdering thug.

RAWA is the oldest political/social organization of Afghan women struggling for peace, freedom, democracy and women’s rights in fundamentalism-blighted Afghanistan since 1977.

Martyred Meena

founding leader of RAWA

Her active social work and effective advocacy against the views of the fundamentalists and the puppet regime of the Soviet Union provoked the wrath of the Russians and the fundamentalist forces alike and she was assassinated by agents of KHAD (Afghanistan branch of KGB) and their fundamentalist accomplices in Quetta, Pakistan, on February 4,1987.

Meena gave 12 years of her short but brilliant life to struggle for her homeland and her people. She had a strong belief that despite the darkness of illiteracy, ignorance of fundamentalism, and corruption and decadence of sell outs imposed on our women under the name of freedom and equality, finally that half of population will be awaken and cross the path towards freedom, democracy and women’s rights. The enemy was rightly shivering with fear by the love and respect that Meena was creating within the hearts of our people. They knew that within the fire of her fights all the enemies of freedom, democracy and women would be turned to ashes.

Meena (1956-1987)
RAWA’s martyred founder

RAWA’s firsdt public action was a march by schoolgirls who were going to confront the authorities by “speaking poetry to them.” the girls stood in a public place and read their poetry, and were shot by security forces.

they’ve been fighting against the oppression of women in afghanistan ever since.

here’s what they have to deal with:

150 girls poisoned by toxic gas in Afghanistan

Takhar man accused of killing infant fourth daughter

Afghanistan’s Corruption, and America’s Too

International Intervention in Afghanistan Has Led to Heroin Resurgence

Over 150 Afghan school girls in hospital after suspected poisoning in Kabul

Child soldiers in Afghanistan will make your heart hurt

Afghan women escape marriage through suicide

Five women found dead over the past three weeks in Afghan province

Most Women at Kabul Prison Accused of Moral Crimes

NATO airstrike kills 18, including 10 children in Afghanistan

Trading of Women Rife in East Afghanistan, Report Claims

In Afghan Child Abuse Cases, Victims Go to Jail

The plight of Afghanistan’s opium brides

Afghan warlord Hekmatyar send out curse to democracy in Afghanistan

HRW: Hundreds of Afghan children killed in US attacks

17 Die from Cold in Afghan Refugee Camps

A 15-year old Girl raped in Directorship Department of Women’s Affairs

133 children die a day in Afghanistan

Around 100 school girls poisoned in northern Afghanistan

More than 120 Afghan girls poisoned in second anti-school attack

600 students poisoned in Khost

Air Force sex-assault chief arrested on sexual battery charges

Police say Lt Col Jeffrey Krusinski faces a charge of sexual battery after allegedly groping a woman in northern Virginia

A police report says the 41-year-old Krusinski was drunk and grabbed a woman’s breast and buttocks. Police say the woman fought him off and called for help.

Air force spokeswoman Natasha Waggoner said Krusinski was removed from his post in the sexual assault unit after the air force learned of his arrest. He had started in the job in February.

Lt Col Jeffrey Krusinski: a police report says the 41-year-old was drunk and grabbed a woman’s breast and buttocks. Photograph: Reuters

Pentagon press secretary George Little said the US defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, had spoken with the air force secretary, Michael Donley, and “expressed outrage and disgust over the troubling allegations and emphasised that this matter will be dealt with swiftly and decisively”.

The spokesman said Hagel had been trying to raise the Pentagon’s focus on sexual assault prevention and response, and would soon announce new steps to address “this vile crime”.

“Sexual assault has no place in the United States military,” Little said. “The American people, including our service members, should expect a culture of absolutely no tolerance for this deplorable behaviour that violates not only the law, but basic principles of respect, honour and dignity in our society and its military. Secretary Hagel is firmly committed to upholding the highest standards of behaviour in America’s armed forces and will take action to see this through.”

An air force website says the “Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program reinforces the air force’s commitment to eliminate incidents of sexual assault through awareness and prevention training, education, victim advocacy, response, reporting and accountability”. - from the guardian, u.k., US air force sexual assault prevention unit chief charged with sexual battery

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel “expressed outrage and disgust over the troubling allegations” in a call with Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley, Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement. Hagel “emphasized that this matter will be dealt with swiftly and decisively.”

The charges are an embarrassment for Hagel, who has promised to crack down on sexual assault in the military.

According to the Air Force’s website, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program hopes “to eliminate incidents of sexual assault through awareness and prevention training, education, victim advocacy, response, reporting and accountability. The Air Force promotes sensitive care and confidential reporting for victims of sexual assault and accountability for those who commit these crimes.”

The arrest was first reported by ARLnow.com. Air Force officials confirmed Krusinski’s identity to The Times.

The military has struggled with sex abuse scandals for decades. In 2012, more than 30 male Air Force boot camp instructors were accused of sexually harassing, abusing and having sex with at least 59 recruits at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. This year, two three-star Air Force generals have also fallen under criticism for pardoning sex offenders in their ranks. - from the l.a. times, Air Force sex-assault chief arrested on sexual battery charges

Air Force Brochure Tells Sexual Assault Victims to ‘Submit’

An Air Force brochure on sexual assault advises potential victims not to fight off their attackers.

“It may be advisable to submit [rather] than resist,” reads the brochure (.pdf), issued to airmen at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, where nearly 10,000 military and civilian personnel are assigned. “You have to make this decision based on circumstances. Be especially careful if the attacker has a weapon.”

The brochure, acquired by Danger Room, issues a series of guidances on “risk reduction” for sexual assault. Among others, it advises people under sexual attack in parking lots to “consider rolling underneath a nearby auto and scream loud. It is difficult to force anyone out from under a car.” A public affairs officer at Shaw, Sgt. Alexandria Mosness, says she believes the brochure is current.

While the brochure also explains that sexual assault is not always committed by people who “don’t look like a rapist” — attackers “tend to have hyper-masculine attitudes,” it advises — it does not offer instruction to servicemembers on not committing sexual assault. Prevention is treated as the responsibility of potential victims.

“Rapists look for vulnerability and then exploit it in those who: are young (naive); are new to the base, deployment, area, etc.; are emotionally unstable,” the brochure (.pdf) continues.

All this comes as the Air Force, and the U.S. military more broadly, deals with the fallout of the service’s sexual-assault prevention and response chief, Lt. Col Jeffrey Krusinski, getting arrested on sexual-battery charges on Sunday. During a Senate hearing today, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), grilled Air Force officials on how Krusinski was placed in his post. “His record is very good,” Gen. Mark Welsh III, the Air Force’s chief of staff, said, citing a lack of warning signs in Krusinski’s prior service.

Welsh said he and outgoing Air Force Secretary Michael Donley were “appalled” to hear of Krusinski’s arrest. “We will not quit working this problem,” Welsh continued.

Pages from the brochure were provided to Danger Room by Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy group that raises awareness of sexual assault within the military. The organization’s spokesman, Brian Purchia, described it as an example of the military’s myopia about a problem that top leaders like Welsh have sworn to take seriously. - from wired.com blog danger room

THIS PROBLEM CONTINUES TO LINGER, DESPITE ENDLESS NUMBERS OF BROKEN PROMISES. NO END IN SIGHT.

see this, from last year:

AF leaders gather to address sexual assault prevention, response

by Tech. Sgt. Jess D. Harvey
Air Force Public Affairs Agency

4/19/2012 - JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (AFNS) – Air Force leaders from around the globe gathered at the 2012 Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Leader Summit here April 17 and 18 to learn about service-wide SAPR issues and programs.

Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Phil Breedlove both spoke at the event, stressing the importance of dealing with and ultimately eliminating sexual assault within the Air Force.

“Our dedicated men and women selflessly put themselves in harm’s way,” said Breedlove during the first day of the summit. “We owe our Airmen a safe environment where they may continue to focus on defeating our nation’s enemies.”

Breedlove cited a 2010 Gallup survey of a representative sample of Air Force active duty members, which revealed that 19 percent of female Airmen and 2 percent of male Airmen reported being the victim of sexual assault at some point while they have been in the Air Force.

Eighty-one percent of these women said they were sexually assaulted by a fellow military member, as did 50 percent of the men. Among those whose perpetrators were in the military, the large majority said their perpetrator was in the Air Force.

Breedlove said any sexual assault is unacceptable, and that the Gallup survey data should anger every leader in the Air Force. – from the united states air force website

see also, these previous posts:

rape of women in the military, by their fellow soldiers and officers, on the rise

over 50,000 american military women have been sexually assaulted by u.s. soldiers

Sexual violence in the US military is massively under-reported

assata shakur makes fbi’s most wanted list, after a lifetime’s exile in cuba

FILE – This is an undated file photo provided by the New Jersey State Police showing Assata Shakur – the former Joanne Chesimard – who was put on a U.S. government terrorist watch list on May 2, 2005. Shakur, 57, was convicted in 1973 of killing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster as he lay on the ground. She escaped from prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba. The FBI is scheduled to make an announcement Thursday, May 2, 2013 regarding Joanne Chesimard, who killed a New Jersey state trooper on this date 40 years ago. (AP Photo/New Jersey State Police, File)

one of the great sheroes of the uprising against the fascist pig nixon white house has made the fbi’s most wanted list, 33 years after being forced to live in exile.

if we had more activists like her, the government wouldn’t be able to get away with their bullshit austerity scams and terror plots.

EXPECT an update on this story tonight, as assata is one of the strongest revolutionaries on the planet. not for her actions as much as her heart. she’s wonderful.

Today, Joanne Chesimard — better known as Assata Shakur — became the first woman to make the FBI’s list of most wanted terrorists. In 1977, an all-white jury convicted Chesinard of killing a New Jersey state trooper, and she was given a life sentence. A former member of the Black Liberation Army, she escaped from prison in 1979 with the help of fellow activists, including her brother Mutulu Shakur, the rapper Tupac’s stepfather. Chesimard inspired Common’s “Song for Assata,” which in turn inspired conservatives to protest Common’s visit to the White House.

Chesimard’s supporters believe that she, like other former members of the Black Panthers Party, was the victim of FBI misconduct through Cointelpro. In the early seventies, she was linked to a string of bank robberies and police killings that prompted a multistate manhunt. Those charges were later dismissed, acquitted, or mistried, but she was wanted for questioning when she, Sundiata Acoli, and Zayd Malik Shakur were pulled over on the New Jersey turnpike for a broken tail light — a confrontation that ended in the shootout that left Trooper Werner Foerster and Zayd Malik Shakur dead.

Chesimard fled to Cuba, where she received political asylum due to racial persecution and — despite periodic political maneuvering to have her extradited — lived openly, giving interviews and publishing her autobiography. She went back underground in 2005, when she was reclassified as a domestic terrorist and the reward for her capture rose to $1 million. Today, the fortieth anniversary of the killing, the F.B.I. and the state of New Jersey doubled it, contributing another $1 million dollars.

The terrorist attacks on Boston — like the shootings in Newtown and Aurora — are a reminder of the glaring gender imbalance among mass killers. (As if the logical conclusions of women attaining equality would be their equal participation in murder, as opposed to, say, less oppression in general.) But in this particular instance of bad glass-ceiling-breaking, Chesimard seems like something of a token appointment. – from new york magazine

see also:

First woman added to FBI’s list of most wanted terrorists [New York Post]

when you play the game of drones, they win and you die

“Look, we live in a very dangerous world. We know there are people who want to take away our freedoms.”

did the canadian government invent “al qaeda in iran?” are the ruling elites just playing games with us? and the mayor of new york thinks the fact that the boston marathon bombing was pulled off by two kids – who the FBI had been tracking for years – with thousands of security personnel from local, state, national and international law enforcement agencies present, this means we must SURRENDER MORE OF OUR BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIGNITY if we don’t want to see more of this in the future. that sounds like a threat to me. one of those “we can do this the easy way, or…” type scenarios.

our government already believes it has the right to kill u.s. citizens without disclosing any rationalization for doing so. how much more do we have to give up?

and no wonder obomber doesn’t want to talk about why he kills americans abroad in drone strikes. two out of three americans killed by drone strikes in yemen (so far) were not individuals who were targeted. so, let’s not discuss this…it’s…embarrassing…

this is a card from Illuminati, a card game that i have played and own. more about spooky games below, or in every post on this blog, or both – take your pick.

Police in Canada said Monday that two men suspected of plotting to derail a passenger train were guided by Al Qaeda elements in Iran, but the statement surprised many experts who study terrorism in the Middle East and Iran.

“It frankly doesn’t compute for me,” said Barbara Slavin, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. “If there is any link, I would think it was extremely tangential.”

Iran and Al Qaeda have frequently had chilly relations, according to Slavin and other experts. Iran is majority Shiite, while Al Qaeda is firmly Sunni. In Syria, Al Qaeda has jumped into the fray alongside opposition fighters while Iran has backed President Bashar Assad. Iran has also held Al Qaeda members in the country under house arrest, monitoring their activities. Documents confiscated from Osama bin Laden’s hide-out in Pakistan and released last year suggested discord between the two. – from the l.a. times, Analysts surprised by alleged Al Qaeda in Iran tie in Canada plot

be sure to see previous post: u.s., fance admit they are arming al qaeda in syria, demand more weapons, drones

Al-Qaeda releases video accusing Iran of siding with the US over Afghanistan. (Last Modified: 08 Sep 2008)

Al-Qaeda has released a new video accusing Iran of giving way to the US in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The new footage, released three days before the seventh anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, also attacked Lebanese, Pakistani and Afghan leaders.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s deputy leader, and other senior al-Qaeda commanders, focussed on what they called the “Iranian-Crusade alliance” saying the Muslim Umma [nation] was being targetted.

In the one-hand-half-hour video, al-Zawahiri said that the Muslim Umma was facing a military, ideological and media crusade by the Iranian “coalition”, which had given way to the US, by letting them invade Afghanistan and Iraq.

Al-Qaeda’s deputy also said Hezbollah and its leaders  did not gain victory in the war against Israel in 2006, saying that outcome had been beneficial to Israel. – from al jazeera, Al-Qaeda video rounds on Iran

“Look, we live in a very dangerous world. We know there are people who want to take away our freedoms.”

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday the country’s interpretation of the Constitution will “have to change” to allow for greater security to stave off future attacks.

“The people who are worried about privacy have a legitimate worry,” Mr. Bloomberg said during a press conference in Midtown. “But we live in a complex world where you’re going to have to have a level of security greater than you did back in the olden days, if you will. And our laws and our interpretation of the Constitution, I think, have to change.”

Mr. Bloomberg, who has come under fire for the N.Y.P.D.’s monitoring of Muslim communities and other aggressive tactics, said the rest of the country needs to learn from the attacks. - from politiker, Bloomberg Says Interpretation of Constitution Will ‘Have to Change’ After Boston Bombing

The War on Terror Boardgame

Sitting on the couch watching TV, you hear the news that your country is about to invade another. Horror and amazement mixes with frustration as you realize how absolutely powerless you are to stop it. ‘Hang on a minute,’ said Andy Sheerin to Andy Tomkins as they watched the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ‘Let’s make a game of it.’ And so War on Terror – The Boardgame was born.

Holding a mirror to the Middle East, the game is all about empire. You start with an empire, build it up through development, fight other empires; and liberate countries from the clutches of empire. Just as in the boardroom, the more oil you have on the board-game, the more money you make. The more money you make, the more countries you can develop and control. And if you don’t like the rate your empire is expanding, then you can always buy terrorists, or turn terrorists yourself. – from the new internationalist, The War on Terror Boardgame

also see the official website of the game, WAR ON TERROR, THE BOARDGAME, as well as the official website of the illuminati: the game of conspiracy card game

this game is chilling…ruthlessness is always the winning strategy.

MORE GAMES:

Al-Qaeda gaining experience in Syria, eyes ‘Islamic state to fight Israel and Iran’

An Iraqi Al-Qaeda operative has admitted that his organization is taking part in the Syrian uprising against President Assad. The revelation comes amidst increasing evidence that Al-Qaeda is gaining a foothold in Syria.

Abu Thuha, a 56-year-old Al-Qaeda operative living near Kirkuk in northern Iraq, described the Islamist organization’s grand plans to an Iraqi reporter for The New York Times.

“We have experience now fighting the Americans, and more experience now with the Syrian revolution,” he noted. “Our big hope is to form a Syrian-Iraqi Islamic state for all Muslims, and then announce our war against Iran and Israel, and free Palestine.”

Similar revelations that “around 90 terror attacks that can be attributed to organizations that are close to Al-Qaeda or jihadist groups were carried out in Syria between the end of December and the beginning of July” have been made by the German foreign intelligence service, the BND.

The information was revealed by the German government in a response to a parliamentary question. The German government admitted that it had received several reports from the German foreign intelligence service, but noted that the content of these reports was to remain classified “by reason of national interest,” in light of Germany’s support for the rebellion and its political arm, the Syrian National Council (SNC).

At least three major German newspapers – Die Welt, the FAZ (Die Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), and the tabloid Bild – have published reports attributing responsibility for the May 25 massacre in the Syrian town of Houla to anti-government rebel forces or treating this as the most likely scenario.

Writing in Bild, longtime German war correspondent Jurgen Todenhofer accused the rebels of “deliberately killing civilians and then presenting them as victims of the government”. He described this “massacre-marketing strategy” as being “among the most disgusting things that I have ever experienced in an armed conflict.” - see more, including video, from russia today

FBI Arrests Teen Who Tried to Join U.S.-funded Free Syrian Army

A U.S. teenager has been arrested on terrorism-related charges and accused of seeking to join an al-Qaeda-affiliated group in war-torn Syria, the FBI said Saturday.

Abdella Ahmad Tounisi, 18, was arrested Friday night as he attempted to board a flight from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Turkey, which borders Syria, the FBI said. – from the times of israel, FBI: US teen tried to join Syrian al-Qaeda-linked group

DEMOCRACY NOW HITS ONE OUT OF THE PARK! GRAND SLAM!

Jeremy Scahill: The Secret Story Behind Obama’s Assassination of Two Americans in Yemen

Published on Apr 23, 2013 democracy now -

The Obama administration’s assassination of two U.S. citizens in 2011, Anwar Al-Awlaki and his 16-year-old Denver-born son Abdulrahman, is a central part of Jeremy Scahill’s new book, “Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield.” The book is based on years of reporting on U.S. secret operations in Yemen, Somalia and Afghanistan. While the Obama administration has defended the killing of Anwar, it has never publicly explained why Abdulrahman was targeted in a separate drone strike two weeks later. Scahill reveals CIA director John Brennan, Obama’s former senior adviser on counterterrorism and homeland security, suspected that the teenager had been killed “intentionally.” “The idea that you can simply have one branch of government unilaterally and in secret declare that an American citizen should be executed or assassinated without having to present any evidence whatsoever — we should view that with great sobriety about the implications for our country,” says Scahill, national security correspondent for The Nation magazine. Today the U.S. Senate is preparing to hold its first-ever hearing on the Obama administration’s drone and targeted killing program. However the Obama administration is refusing to send a witness to answer questions about the program’s legality. “Dirty Wars” is also the name of a new award-winning documentary by Scahill and Rick Rowley, which will open in theaters in June. We air the film’s new trailer.

Watch the full 50-minute interview with Jeremy Scahill on Democracy Now!, as well as dozens of other past reports from Scahill on the topic.

also see Dirty Wars, Documentary on U.S. Covert Warfare Abroad, Wins Sundance Cinematography Award

 

u.s., fance admit they are arming al qaeda in syria, demand more weapons, drones

President Bashar al-Assad accused the West on Wednesday of supporting al Qaeda militants in Syria’s civil war and warned they would turn against their backers and strike “in the heart of Europe and the United States”.

Assad also launched his strongest criticism yet of neighbouring Jordan for allowing thousands of fighters to cross the border to join a conflict he insisted his forces would win and save Syria from destruction.

John Kerry: “look, the only way to stop incidents like sandy hook and the marathon bombings is to start world war three in the middle east. our overlords command us – long may they reign.” Photograph: Pool/Reuters

“We have no choice but victory. If we don’t win, Syria will be finished and I don’t think this is a choice for any citizen in Syria,” the defiant president said in a television interview.

Assad’s forces have been fighting back across the country against rebels who have taken control of much of rural Syria and seized a provincial capital in March for the first time in two years of fighting.

The conflict started with mainly peaceful demonstrations but descended into a civil war in which the United Nations says at least 70,000 people have been killed. Islamist militants have emerged as the most potent of the anti-Assad rebels.

Drawing parallels with Western support for anti-Soviet fighters in Afghanistan in the 1980s, some of whom later formed the al Qaeda organisation which attacked the United States in Sept. 2011, Assad said Washington and Europe would regret supporting rebels in Syria.

“The West paid heavily for funding al Qaeda in its early stages in Afghanistan. Today it is supporting it in Syria, Libya and other places, and will pay a heavy price later in the heart of Europe and the United States,” he told al-Ikhbariya channel. – from france24, Assad warns West against supporting ‘al Qaeda rebels’

jihadists being exported to syria, mali, from france

In a report published on the 11^th of April French daily Le Monde admits that rebels fighting the government of the Syrian Arab Republic are dominated by Japhat Al Nosra, a terrorist group linked to Al Qaida. The admission comes after two years of non-stop disinformation trumpeted from all French mainstream media outlets from the official right to the official left, disinformation that has attempted to convince the French public that democratic revolutionaries are fighting a war for human rights and freedom against a brutal, tyrannical dictator, who is ‘’ killing his own people’’.

This puerile and deeply dishonest narrative has now been utterly discredited, as the facts about the terrorist nature of the Syrian rebels have become too obvious to ignore.  In an article entitled ‘The New Visage of French Jihadism’ it is reported that French jihadists are leaving France in their hundreds to join the ‘holy war’ against the Syrian Arab Republic, with many more joining jihadist groups in Mali. – from global research, France’s Media Admits that the Syrian “Opposition” is Al Qaida. Then Justifies French Government Support to the Terrorists

US DOUBLES AID TO AL QEADA IN SYRIA

The US readied a package Saturday of up to $130m in non-lethal military aid to Syrian opposition forces while European countries consider easing an arms embargo, moves that could further pressure the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

US secretary of state John Kerry was expected to announce the plans about the defensive military supplies at a meeting Saturday that was bringing together the Syrian opposition leadership and their main international allies.

The supplies possibly could include body armor, armored vehicles, night vision goggles and advanced communications equipment.

US officials said the details and costs were to be determined at the meeting. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss Kerry’s announcement.

Kerry met with Syrian opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib before the conference began. – from the guardia, uk, US prepares $130m military aid package for Syrian rebels

Secretary of Defense Hagel summoned by dark overlords

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel headed to Israel on Sunday in a weeklong trip to the Middle East that will be dominated by worries over Iran‘s nuclear program and Syria‘s raging civil war.

In his first trip to the region since taking over as Pentagon chief nearly two months ago, Hagel planned to discuss with his counterparts the final details of an elaborate $10 billion arms deal that will provide US military aircraft and missiles to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In a two-day visit to Israel, Hagel will seek to counter criticism from some US lawmakers and pro-Israel groups that he is too soft on Iran and too hostile to the Jewish state — a charge he has vehemently rejected.

Hagel will likely tout the arms deal as a demonstration of Washington’s commitment to Israel’s security and as a way of countering Iran’s military power and nuclear ambitions.

The United States and Israel have disagreed over the urgency of the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program, with Washington maintaining there is still time to see if tough sanctions and diplomacy persuade Tehran to change course. – from afp, Pentagon chief heads to Israel

al qeada in syria demands air support from u.s., allies

The Syrian opposition urged the U.S. and allies to use drones against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, provide weapons to opposition fighters, and create a protected “no-fly zone” airspace within Syria at a meeting of allies in Istanbul yesterday.

The demands reflected opposition frustration with the failure of the U.S. and its allies to provide the intelligence and equipment they say is necessary to defend themselves from the regime’s continued attacks.

“The technical ability to take specific action to prevent the human tragedy and suffering of innocent civilians, mostly women and children, is available in the form of specific intelligence and equipment,” the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces said in a statement. “Syrians understand that such ability is within the reach of a number of members of the Friends of Syria Group, yet nothing serious has been done to put an end to such terror and criminality.” - from bloomberg, Syrian Opposition Pushes for Drones, Weapons as Allies Meet

US, UK and France training Syrian rebels in Jordan

In the past three months some 200 men have already received training in two camps in the east and the south of Jordan, Der Spiegel reports. The military training focuses on the use of anti-tank weaponry, the news magazine reported, citing what it said were participants and organizers. It adds that there are plans to provide training for a total of 1,200 fighters from the Free Syrian Army – the opposition force battling the regime of President Bashar Assad.

The report said that some of the Americans wore army uniforms, but it did not specify whether they worked for private firms or represented the US military.

Last October the Pentagon confirmed that a small group of US special forces and military advisers had spent the summer in Jordan training the country’s military to act in case Syria used its chemical weapons. Reportedly, select groups of Syrian rebels were trained, too.

As Britain’s The Guardian reported on Friday, the US is not alone in their efforts. UK and French instructors are also in Jordan training the Syria rebels.

Though the American, British and French Defense Ministries have not commented so far on the information about the FSA being trained in Jordan, this move does not contradict either the US plans for non-lethal directaid to Syrian opposition or British understanding of the EU arms embargo enforced on Syria. - from russia today

Syria says Jordan ‘playing with fire’ over assistance to rebels

Jordan tightens security along Syrian border as tensions soar amid reports of arms shipments to anti-Assad forces – from the guardian, uk

america is such a horrible place, murder-suicides are epidemic

this country has been destroyed from within.

the never-ending war on terror – on top of the never-ending war on drugs – has created a might-makes-right culture of alpha-male wannabes rampaging through a nation of timid sheeple.

people watch in impotent despair as corporate criminals destroy their communities, bankster thieves steal the entire world’s economy, the entire nation is made into a testing ground for genetically modified organisms, and anyone who speaks or acts against these assaults on our basic human rights and dignity are labelled as terrorists or extremists.

young males in the u.s. and canada believe it their right to rape young women. and a sizable number of them think it is within their rights to gang rape women and make videos of the assault to share with their friends. where did they learn this? from their older relatives in the military? from music glamorizing thug life? didn’t any of these guys have mothers?

see previous posts:

rape of women in the military, by their fellow soldiers and officers, on the rise

over 50,000 american military women have been sexually assaulted by u.s. soldiers

the war against women

how did this world of hope for a better future for all so quickly disintegrate into a feeding frenzy over dwindling natural resources? why are americans so willing to send their young abroad to die in pointless, vanity wars that only result in the loss of our human rights and vast profits for corporations?

and why – WHY – aren’t more people alarmed about the war against women, which is raging worldwide?

Rape of Civilian Women in a War Zone

During war, atrocities such as rape are often committed against civilian women. Rape occurs in areas under attack and in refugee camps. In war, rape is an assault on both the individual woman and her family and community. Many hundreds of thousands of women have been raped in wars in this century alone, as reported in areas as diverse as Korea, Bangladesh, Liberia, Southeast Asia, and Uganda. Bosnian refugees have described how, in the former Yugoslavia, military forces publicly raped women to systematically force families to flee their villages, contributing to the goal of “ethnic cleansing.” Assaults are often gang-related and sadistic, including other forms of physical torture. These women may also experience loss of home and community, dislocation, injury, and untreated illness, and these women may witness the murder, injury, or rape of loved ones. The effects of these types of trauma are immeasurable, long lasting, and shattering to both inner and outer worlds.

The situation can be worsened by the cultural attitudes surrounding rape. In Muslim culture, for example, the honor of the woman reflects upon the entire family, and rape is very stigmatizing and shameful. A woman who is raped might fear being expelled from her husband’s family or never finding a husband. Some rape victims might also believe that the rape is a punishment for some sin that they have committed. Even if they do not blame themselves, they may feel such a strong cultural responsibility to protect their family that they often remain silent about the trauma. Many of the Bosnian rape victims told no one about what happened to them. Stigma and injustice have surrounded the rape of women for as long as time. In fact, rape was not considered a crime against humanity or war crime until the 1990s.

- from the u.s. department of veteran affairs

The woman’s screams echoed in the isolation cell.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. What am I here for? What are you doing?” Hope Steffey yelled as 8 male and female deputies pinned her to the cell floor and stripped away her clothes.

Elderly Suicide Rate Climbing

Nationally, suicide rates among adults over age 60, in general, are climbing, according to mental health and suicide prevention groups. Suicide rates among 65- to 74-year-olds jumped from 12.6 to 13.9 per 100,000 in that age group between 2007 and 2008, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. That was the biggest one-year increase among all age groups.

According to the San Francisco-based Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention and Grief Related Services, 84.6 percent of elderly suicides are male and that the rate of male suicides in late life was 7.7 times greater than female suicides. For approximately 60 percent of all cases of suicide and 83 percent of elderly suicides, major depression plays a pivotal role in facilitating suicide.

Elderly suicide risk factors include death of a loved one, physical illness or un-controllable pain, perceived poor health, social isolation and loneliness and changes in social roles.

murder/suicides rampant -

• Wife Calls 911 Before Dying
• Shooter Dead, Victim Expected To Survive
• Bodies Found In Burned Out Home
• Mother And Son, 11, Pronounced Dead At Scene
• Lady Cop Kills Boyfriend, Baby, Self
• Loud Argument Preceded Shooting
• Slasher Returns After Cops Leave
• Bodies Found In Garage
• Police Find Three Bodies In Home
• Teen Wounded In Botched Murder/Suicide
• Police Robot Finds Body Of Shooter
• Dead Couple Had Rocky Relationship
• Shooter Had Extensive Criminal Record

and that’s just a sample of the latest, from The never-ending archive of jealousy, betrayal, despair, and madness, murder/suicide

Suicide Rate Among Vets and Active Duty Military Jumps – Now 22 A Day

Almost once an hour – every 65 minutes to be precise – a military veteran commits suicide, says a new investigation by the Department of Veterans Affairs. By far the most extensive study of veteran suicides ever conducted, the report, issued Friday, examined suicide data from 1999 to 2010.

The data was then compared with a previous investigation – primarily an estimation – that had been conducted over the same time period, and had found a suicide rate of 18 per day.

Many of these suicides involve older veterans; 69 percent of the suicides recorded were by veterans age 50 and older. But another way to look at this is that 31 percent of these suicides were by veterans 49 and younger. In other words,by men in the prime of life.

And then there are the shockingly common active duty suicides. Just two weeks ago, the military released data showing that suicides among those on active duty hit a record high in 2012. There were 349 suicides among active duty personnel – almost one a day. That means there are now more suicides among active duty soldiers than there are combat deaths.

- from forbes.com

The Elites’ Civil War

the powers that be are just that – powers; plural. to put world war three in its proper context, think of it as a war between cowboys, rustlers, bandits, bankers, gangsters, corporations and religions over us – the herd of humanity. the winner gets to do whatever they want with us. expect no mercy.

Elites: A Harsh Truth

Published on Mar 24, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers

The time has come when hate in your heart makes you the enemy of all.

see also:

A Failed Formula for Worldwide War