May 2009
45 posts
Gen. Taguba Says Telegraph Quoted Him Correctly on...
Taguba, however, now says that the photos he saw are not part of the ones at the center of an ACLU lawsuit. So where are the ‘rape’ photos Taguba described?
By Jeremy Scahill
Just a day after White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs smeared the entire British media over a damning report in one British paper, Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba says that Britain’s Daily Telegraph quoted...
Terry McAuliffe's Attempt to Bribe Ralph Nader is...
The Democrats didn’t run as an actual opposition party in 2004, but they did try to bribe a man who did. When that failed, they tried to keep Nader off the ballot. That’s democracy?
By Jeremy Scahill
As chair of the Democratic National Committee during the 2004 election, Terry McAuliffe engaged in actions that reveal exactly how the Democratic Party establishment views the...
After Gen. Taguba Alleges Existence of Prisoner...
Mr. Gibbs: Instead of attacking the “British media” “in general,” how about going after Gen. Taguba, who lost his job for confronting torture and revealing Bush “war crimes?”
By Jeremy Scahill
Wow. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs is really embodying the idea that when the message is devastating, you attack the messenger. Except in this case, Gibbs is not...
Obama Wants $736 Million Colonial Fortress in...
Critics say the White House wants to use the new “embassy” for “pushing the American agenda in Central Asia.”
By Jeremy Scahill
Ah, good thing the US quest for violent global domination was brought to a screeching halt with the November presidential election. Without Obama’s election, we’d still have an occupation of Iraq, mercenaries on the US payroll,...
Mr. Obama, Rape of Prisoners is "Not Particularly...
Obama has tried to downplay the nature of thousands of photos of prisoner abuse, but the general who led the Abu Ghraib investigation is painting a horrifying picture of the classified photos.
By Jeremy Scahill
Let’s try to reconcile these two statements on thousands of photos of US military personnel abusing and/or torturing prisoners; photos that the Obama administration is fighting to...
BREAKING: Wiwa vs Shell Trial Postponed
Shell is facing a groundbreaking lawsuit alleging it was complicit in the hanging of nine Nigerian human rights activists, including internationally-renowned playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa.
By Jeremy Scahill
A major lawsuit against Shell Oil Corporation brought by the family of slain poet/writer/activist Ken Saro-Wiwa has been postponed. It was scheduled to begin on Wednesday in federal court in New...
If Iran Freed Roxanna Saberi, Why Won't the US...
The US has bombed media outlets, killed reporters and imprisoned journalists without charge for years at Gitmo and elsewhere. The US war on the media must end.
By Jeremy Scahill
Last week, we reported on how retired US Army Colonel Ralph Peters penned an essay for a leading neocon group calling for future US military attacks on media outlets and journalists. Writing for the journal of the the...
Colin Powell Confronted Over Torture That Fueled...
The ex-Secretary of State dodges key questions about his UN testimony, which was in part based on false “evidence” that came after intense US torture ordered by Cheney.
RebelReports guest post by Sam Husseini
Col. Lawrence B. Wilkerson, Colin Powell’s former chief of staff, recently wrote:
“What I have learned is that as the administration authorized harsh interrogation in April...
Somali Teenager Pleads Not Guilty to 'Piracy'...
His lawyers say he is a scared 15 year old kid who fished in Somalia. Prosecutors say he is the pirate ringleader who threatened to kill a US ship’s captain.
By Jeremy Scahill
Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, the Somali teenager accused by US prosecutors of being the “ringleader” of the group of “pirates” who allegedly attempted to seize control of the Maersk Alabama...
US Colonel Advocates US 'Military Attacks' on...
“The point of all this is simple: Win,” writes Col. Ralph Peters. “In warfare, nothing else matters. If you cannot win clean, win dirty. But win.” By Jeremy Scahill In the era of embedded media, independent journalists have become the eyes and ears of the world. Without those un-embedded journalists willing to risk their lives to place themselves on the other side of the...
In Closed-Door Meeting With Rights Groups, Obama...
“I don’t see meaningful differences between [Obama’s] detention policies and those erected by President Bush,” said one participant in the meeting.
By Jeremy Scahill
Just when you think President Obama’s policies on war, civil liberties and Guantanamo couldn’t possibly look any more like the Bush/Cheney regime’s than they already do, the...
BREAKING: KBR Was Paid $83 Million in Bonuses for...
Senators decry KBR’s shoddy work and ask why the company continues to win contracts.
By Jeremy Scahill
The Department of Defense paid former Halliburton subsidiary KBR more than $80 million in bonuses for contracts to install electrical wiring in Iraq in 2007-2008. The award payment was for the very work that resulted in the electrocution deaths of US soldiers, according to Department of...
Latest News on RebelReports...
SAY WHAT??: Mastercard-istan: Ex-Bush Henchman Wants to be “CEO of Afghanistan” (Literally): Obama may allow famed neocon Zalmay Khalilzad to become the unelected shadow leader of Afghanistan to “push American interests.”
VIDEO: Watch Jeremy Scahill on Democracy Now! discussing how a US Thug Squad is Still Brutalizing Gitmo Prisoners Under Obama
DEVELOPING: Blackwater Operating in...
Mastercard-istan: Ex-Bush Henchman Wants to be...
Obama may allow famed neocon Zalmay Khalilzad to become the unelected shadow leader of Afghanistan to “push American interests.”
By Jeremy Scahill
This story that is developing with the big oil-Bush buddy Zalmay Khalilzad is amazing in how crude it is. Khalilzad of course was one of Bush’s top diplomatic henchmen in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere and an original signer of...
Bill Clinton Named New UN Envoy to 'Stabilize'...
As president, Clinton forced neoliberal policies on Haiti, delayed President Aristide’s return after a US-backed coup and held Haitian refugees at Gitmo without rights.
By Jeremy Scahill
Former US President Bill Clinton has been named by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as his special UN envoy to Haiti. Clinton will reportedly travel to the country at least four times a...
Blackwater Operating in Afghanistan on Subcontract...
After deadly shooting in Kabul, a new Blackwater subsidiary is revealed. The company is also accused of using AK47s seized from Afghan insurgents.
By Jeremy Scahill
For those of you who have been following the intricacies of the various ongoing Blackwater/Xe scandals (hard to keep up with indeed), the situation unfolding in Kabul is certainly on your radar. In short, four Blackwater/Xe...
Spanish Investigation Reveals 'An Approved...
While Obama and the US Congress refuse to hold Bush-era torturers accountable, a Spanish judge fights for accountability and uncovers more US atrocities.
By Jeremy Scahill
On Friday, I wrote a piece for AlterNet on how the Obama administration is continuing to use a notorious military police unit at Guantanamo that regularly brutalizes unarmed prisoners, despite Obama’s pledge to uphold...
Obama and the Right Wing vs. the ACLU and Human...
What does it say about Obama’s policies when he is consistently being praised by rightwingers and their newspapers, while sparking protests from civil liberties and human rights groups?
By Jeremy Scahill
The Wall Street Journal editorial page was all full of praise this weekend for Barack Obama’s decision to abandon his campaign pledges to end the Bush administration’s...
Bush-era 'Black Shirts' Continue Reign of Terror... →
This is my latest, in-depth investigative report for AlterNet.
Excerpt:
While much of the “torture debate” has emphasized the so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques” defined by the twisted legal framework of the Office of Legal Council memos, IRF teams in effect operate at Guantánamo as an extrajudicial terror squad that has regularly brutalized prisoners outside...
Fire the Boss! Come to a FREE Event Friday in NYC... →
FIRE THE BOSS: The Worker Control Solution from Buenos Aires to Chicago With the authors and editors of Sin Patrón: Stories from Argentina´s Worker-Run Factories: lavaca collective, foreword by Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis (Haymarket Books) 7 pm May 15, 2009 The Great Hall at Cooper Union 7 East 7th Street, New York City, New York free (seating is first come, first served) with (list...
Look out for my in-depth story Friday, which tells...
In other goon squad news, check out the latest Blackwater, er Xe, scandal below…
Blackwater Accused of Racism on Its Anti-Piracy...
A Black crewman claims he was called racist names. His colleague says, “[Blackwater supervisors] basically think they can get away with whatever the hell they want to do.”
By Jeremy Scahill
Blackwater, the company which now tries to make people refer to it as Xe, may soon have more lawyers than mercenaries on its payroll. It is being sued left and right for killing innocent Iraqis,...
My apologies for the lack of posts...
Dear Readers,
I am working on a pretty in-depth story that will come out this week. Once that is done, things will get back to normal. Sorry for my unexplained absence.
Thanks for reading.
peace,
//jeremy
After US Strikes, Afghans Describe "Tractor...
As rage spreads in Afghanistan after US bombing that killed up to 130 people, unnamed Pentagon officials are spinning another cover-up. Defiant Obama moves ahead with troop increase.
By Jeremy Scahill
(Photo: A child wounded in the US bombing of Farah.)
As President Barack Obama prepares to send some 21,000 more US troops into Afghanistan, anger is rising in the western province of Farah, the...
Latest News From RebelReports:
DEVELOPING: We are working on another story about Blackwater. Today is technically the last day of its mega-“security” contract in Iraq. Also, more developments in the mass civilian deaths caused by US airstrikes in Afghanistan earlier this week…
TOP STORY: Red Cross: US Airstrikes Killed 13 Members of One Family. Pentagon May Blame Taliban for ‘Staging’ Massacre:...
Red Cross: US Airstrikes Killed 13 Members of One...
Among the dead in the US strikes is a Red Cresent Volunteer and more than a dozen members of his family. The Red Cross says it was an airstrike. Is the Pentagon preparing a cover-up?
By Jeremy Scahill Hours after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “apologized” for US airstrikes that may have killed as many as 130 people in Afghanistan, NBC News is reporting that the US military is...
Cuban Singer Silvio Rodriguez on the US Barring...
Cuban singer/songwriter Silvio Rodriguez was not able to sing at Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday because the State Department would not give him a visa. Here’s Rodriguez’s letter to Seeger: May 3, 2009 Admired and beloved Maestro Pete Seeger: In these moments the tribute concert that dozens of singers are justly offering you is being celebrated. Passing through my mind are...
A Response to Those Who Say Don't Prosecute Bush's...
Some say it is a “stretch” to call for prosecuting the torture lawyers. Those people should read the US constitution and the treaties the US has signed. They should also study Nuremberg.
By Jeremy Scahill
As we reported earlier, Justice Department investigators are likely to recommend that the Bush-era torture memo authors should not be criminally prosecuted, rather they recommend...
Did Blackwater Mercs Try to Smuggle Weapons Used...
A government informant says Blackwater operatives wanted to ‘get rid of’ the guns used at Nisour Square ‘before an investigation ensued.’
By Jeremy Scahill
This is a pretty explosive development in the investigation into Blackwater’s Nisour Square massacre that killed 17 Iraqis and wounded more than 20 others on September 16, 2007: Shortly after the shooting,...
US Bombing in Afghanistan Kills as Many as 120,...
“Houses that were full of children and women and elders were bombed by planes.” This is what US escalation in Afghanistan looks like.
By Jeremy Scahill A massive US bombing raid on two villages in Afghanistan has killed as many as 120 people, among them women and children in strikes the Red Cross called one of the most “serious and biggest” attacks “for a very long...
Latest News on RebelReports:
(image courtesty of indepublica.com)
WAR CRIMES: Justice Dept. Investigators Say No Criminal Prosecutions, Just ‘Disciplinary Actions’: Federal investigators say the torture memo authors only committed ‘serious lapses of judgment,’ not crimes. Critics say that’s ‘outrageous.’
IN-FOCUS: Did a Powerful Democrat Steer No-Bid Defense Contracts to Family and Campaign Donors?: Rep. John...
Justice Dept. Investigators Say No Criminal...
Federal investigators say the torture memo authors only committed ‘serious lapses of judgment,’ not crimes. Critics say that’s ‘outrageous.’
By Jeremy Scahill
The movement to hold Bush-era torturers, their bosses and their lawyers criminally accountable for their crimes may be facing another setback. Reports are emerging that Justice Department investigators will...
Al Jazeera Strikes Back at Pentagon, Releases...
A day after the Pentagon accused Al Jazeera of being ‘irresponsible and inappropriate’ for broadcasting the ‘hunt for Jesus’ in Afghanistan footage, the network releases unedited tapes.
By Jeremy Scahill
Hours after Al Jazeera first broadcast a video showing US soldiers in Afghanistan being instructed by the military’s top chaplain in the country to “hunt people for...
Did a Powerful Democrat Steer No-Bid Defense...
By Jeremy Scahill
Rep. John Murtha says earmarks are ‘my business… for 35 years.’ He is generous in giving US taxpayer money to donors. But have laws been broken?
The heat continues to be on Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. John Murtha, chair of the powerful House Appropriations subcommittee on defense. For months, Murtha has been at the center of a brewing scandal over the...
U.S. Military Calls Al Jazeera 'Irresponsible and...
This line has been used before by the Pentagon to describe Al Jazeera’s exposure of US actions in the ‘war on terror’
By Jeremy Scahill
Hours after Al Jazeera broadcast footage showing US soldiers being told by the senior military chaplain in Afghanistan to “hunt people for Jesus,” the Pentagon has “confiscated copies of the Bible belonging to Christian US soldiers in...
Chuck D of Public Enemy on Obama
Hip-hop legend Chuck D of Public Enemy says he is a supporter of Barack Obama, but also wrote this on the PE website:
“We been saying the New World Order has been taking place the entire span of our beats and rhymes… The presidential position has been a glorified showcase seat for over 50 years. The world is run by banks and bankers who stir the masses into them asses having people...
US Soldiers in Afghanistan Told to "hunt people...
Military officials at Bagram are caught on tape urging US soldiers to evangelize in the Muslim country.
By Jeremy Scahill New video evidence has surfaced showing that US military forces in Afghanistan have been instructed by the military’s top chaplain in the country to “hunt people for Jesus” as they spread Christianity to the overwhelmingly Muslim population. Soldiers also...
Lawyers for Accused AIPAC Spies: They Were...
Lawyers for the former pro-Israel lobbyists praised Obama’s administration for dropping all charges, saying they are ‘extremely grateful’ to the White House.
By Jeremy Scahill
Following the Obama Justice Department’s decision to drop all charges against two former AIPAC lobbyists accused of passing sensitive US intelligence to Israel, lawyers for the two men are full of...
Did the US Reroute an AirFrance Plane to Keep a...
Journalist Hernando Calvo Ospina, who exposed the US-backed Colombian president’s ties to paramilitarties and drug traffickers says the flight was diverted because he was on a watch list.
By Jeremy Scahill
Hernando Calvo Ospina is a Colombian-born journalist who lives in France. He writes for Le Monde Diplomatique and other publications and has been a fierce critic of the US’s...
Obama Justice Department Drops Spy Charges Against...
The defense had planned to call senior Bush officials to testify. Justice Department feared ‘damage to the national security,’ saying, ‘it is in the public interest to dismiss’
By Jeremy Scahill
Just a week after the Jane Harman-Israeli lobby-spy scandal broke out in the open, “The Obama Justice Department moved Friday to drop all charges against two former...
Architect of CIA Rendition Program: If torture...
A RebelReports guest post by Avi Lewis of Al Jazeera I hosted a panel on Al Jazeera English the other day about Obama’s first 100 days of policy around torture, rendition and detention. It yielded a moment of inconvenient truth. Former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer, the architect of the rendition program under Bill Clinton, said what many Democrats know but would rather not hear: that when it...
