From the IPS United Nations Newsbriefs
Failure to account and justify lethal drone activity by the United States represents a major violation of international law and international human rights law, a former U.N. rapporteur said Wednesday.
Since the beginning of drone attacks in 2001, the U.S. has conducted around 450 lethal drone strikes that have [...]
via Lobe Log
by Mitchell Plitnick
The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution reads: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, [...]
by Jim Lobe
via IPS News
Responding to growing criticism by human rights groups and foreign governments, U.S. President Barack Obama Thursday announced potentially significant shifts in what his predecessor called the “global war on terror”.
In a major policy address at the National Defense University here, Obama said drone strikes against [...]
This last weekend saw re-polling in constituencies throughout Pakistan in response to hundreds of complaints of vote rigging. Complaints ranged from the documentation of over 100 percent voter turnout in some polling stations to stories of polling staff being kidnapped and released after votes had been submitted. But vote rigging was not [...]
By Noor Wali Sayeed Shinwarai
Noor Wali Sayeed Shinwarai writes for Killid, an independent Afghan media group in partnership with IPS. By distributing the testimonies of survivors of war crimes through print and radio, Killid strives for greater public awareness about people’s hopes and claims for justice, reconciliation and peace. For this [...]
By Noor Wali Sheenwari
War has ripped apart a majority of families in Afghanistan. Those who were lucky migrated to the West. Uncle Ismail’s family lies buried in a graveyard in Nangarhar. What Follows is a testimony**
One night bombs dropped from the sky, killing 16 members of Ismail’s family. “The war took [...]
By Neelab Nassiri/ Killid
The Kabul sky is dotted with kites on summer evenings. For Mohammad Masoud Nassiri, 40, they bring back painful memories of the evening when his parents and sister were killed. Seconds before the blast he had let go his father’s hand to run after a falling kite. What follows [...]
via Lobe Log
By David Isenberg
Apart from death and taxes, one other thing has also appeared inevitable, at least for the past two decades: Iran will acquire a nuclear weapons capability.
Yet, despite all the near frantic demands for sanctions, clandestine action, sabotage, and outright military strikes to prevent Iran’s presumed inexorable march [...]
via Lobe Log
The Nation’s Jeremy Scahill injects some badly needed context into the media frenzy over David Petraeus’s CIA resignation by examining the four-star General’s legacy against the backdrop of an increasingly militarized intelligence agency:
As head of US Central Command in 2009, Petraeus issued execute orders that significantly broadened the ability [...]
via IPS News
Several critical issues of unfinished business in the Middle East face President Barack Obama as he begins his second term. Washington must become more engaged come January because these issues will directly impact regional stability and security and U.S. interests and personnel in the region.
The issues include the Syrian [...]
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