Antiwar.com Blog

Originally appeared on The American Conservative.

Israeli forces have shot and killed at least three dozen unarmed Palestinians and wounded many hundreds more in the latest attack on Gaza protests:

Gaza’s Health Ministry says the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli army fire amid mass protests near the Gaza border has reached 37, making it the deadliest day since a 2014 war with Israel.

The ministry says at least 448 Palestinians were shot and wounded Monday, while hundreds more suffered other types of injuries, including from tear gas.

The violence made it the deadliest day in Gaza since the devastating cross-border war between the territory’s Hamas rulers and Israel four years ago, and clouded the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

Israeli forces have been using excessive and illegal force against unarmed protesters for weeks, but this is the worst that it has been so far this year. There is no excuse for killing unarmed protesters, and there is no justification for wounding–and sometimes crippling–unarmed people with live ammunition. Gunning down dozens of people in a single day qualifies as a massacre no matter how much anyone wants to spin it as something else. The escalation of violence has been a one-sided affair as Israeli forces have been killing unarmed Palestinians with impunity for more than a month, and the predictable claims of “self-defense” ring more hollow than ever.

Continue reading “Massacring Palestinians with Impunity”

This weekend the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) celebrates its 60th anniversary. On May 12, 1958, Canada and the US officially signed their most significant bilateral military accord.

The Cold War agreement was supposed to defend the two countries from an invasion by Soviet bombers coming from the north. But, the Berlin Wall fell three decades ago and NORAD continues. In fact, the agreement was renewed indefinitely in 2006.

Initially NORAD focused on radar and fighter jets. As technologies advanced, the Command took up intercontinental ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and space-based satellites.

Thousands of Canadian military personnel support NORAD’s operations. One hundred and fifty Canadians are stationed at NORAD’s central collection and coordination facility near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Hundreds more work at regional NORAD outposts across the US and Canada and many pilots are devoted to the Command. A Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) general is deputy commander of NORAD and its commander-in-chief is a US Air Force general.

Continue reading “As NORAD Turns 60, It’s Time To Dismantle It”

US president Donald Trump should never have nominated Gina Haspel to head the Central Intelligence Agency.

When Haspel offered to withdraw her name from consideration, as the Washington Post reports she did during a White House meeting in early May, her offer should have been gratefully accepted.

The US Senate should vote against confirming her appointment – ideally, by a margin of 100-0. Each “yes” vote will darken the stain on America’s honor represented by Haspel’s career thus far.

Gina Haspel doesn’t belong at the head of the CIA. She doesn’t belong in the CIA at all. Nor does she belong in any other position of government authority.

Gina Haspel belongs in prison.

Continue reading “Gina Haspel: Torturers Should be Punished, Not Promoted”

On Tuesday, Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), who is seeking reelection for what he has indicated will be his final term in the United States House of Representatives, won his Republican Party primary. Jones defeated two other candidates — a Washington, DC lobbyist who holds elective office in the district and one of Jones’ primary opponents from 2016.

Will Rahn wrote a Thursday editorial at CBS News concerning Jones’ primary victory and Jones’ history in the House. In the editorial titled “In praise of Walter Jones,” Rahn refers to Jones as a “man of conviction in Washington” who has been punished by his party’s leadership because of his independent actions, including, Rhan writes, becoming “one of the GOP’s most fervent voices for peace.”

Read Rhan’s complete editorial here.

Jones is a member of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity Advisory Board.

Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are upset that US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear agreement. We agree that it was a dumb move on his part that will likely bring us closer to yet another war, but when Merkel said the Europeans needed to start taking care of their own security and stop relying on the Americans, a silver lining was revealed in an otherwise dark cloud. European countries spend very little on defense compared to the US and benefit from the US picking up more than one-fifth the total NATO budget. A Europe that takes care of its own security would likely be less belligerent toward Russia, thus lowering the risks of a catastrophic war. More silver linings in today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report:

Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.

Ben-Gurion said about her: "The only thing Golda knows how to do is to hate!"

Golda Meir did not hate me. That would be an understatement. She detested me.

The way I speak, the way I dress, the way I look. Everything.

Once, in the middle of a speech in the Knesset (I believe it was about allowing the Beatles to appear in Israel) I interrupted myself and said: "Now I want to answer MK Golda Meir…"

"But MK Meir has not said anything!" the chairman objected.

"I am not answering an interjection," I explained. "I am answering her grimaces!"

And indeed, Golda was grimacing, every muscle of her face proclaiming her detestation.

Continue reading “Uri Avnery on Golda Meir’s Destructive Reign”