Tuesday, November 24, 2009

34,000 more US troops to Afghanistan; or Obama = Bush-lite?, cont.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/11/24

Meanwhile, (cheap) talk of withdrawal from the newly forgotten "war" in Iraq is being matched by (expensive/secretive) US military expansion and consolidation in the area:

"In fact, since 2001 the Pentagon has been pouring significant sums of money into the "critical base and port facilities" mentioned by the general -- both U.S. sites and those of its key regional partners. These are often ignored facts-on-the-ground, which signal just how enduring the U.S. military presence in the region is likely to be, no matter what happens in Iraq. Press coverage of this long-term infrastructural build-up has been remarkably minimal, given the implications for future conflicts in the oil heartlands of the planet. After all, Washington is sending tremendous amounts of military materiel into autocratic Middle Eastern nations and building-up bases in countries whose governments, due to domestic public opinion, often prefer that no publicity be given to the growing American military "footprint."

Given that the current conflict with al-Qaeda stemmed, in no small part, from the U.S. military presence in the region, the issue is obviously of importance. Nonetheless, coverage has been so poor that much about U.S. military efforts there remains unknown. A review of U.S. government documents, financial data, and other open-source material by TomDispatch, however, reveals that an American military building boom yet to be seriously scrutinized, analyzed, or assessed is underway in the Middle East."


http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/23-4

Update:

US continues (Bush's) policy of refusing to sign treaty banning landmines:

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/11/25-1

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