News stories on military culture, weapons, “security” policy and war profiteering. Got a link suggestion? Send to web AT nlgmltf DOT org. (This being the first in a series, we’ve gone back a little more than a week to find some interesting articles.)
An Open Letter to the Winter Patriot
As the occupy movement continues to grow in defiance of the heavy-handed police action determined to squelch it, a natural question emerges: What point will the military be summoned to contain the cascade of popular dissent? And if our nation’s finest are brought into this struggle to stand between the vested authority of the state and the ranks of those who petition them for a redress of grievance, what may we expect the outcome to be?
How Private Warmongers and the US Military Infiltrated American Universities (Part 1)
A matrix of closely tied university-based strategic studies ventures, the so-called Grand Strategy Programs (GSP), have cropped up on a number of elite campuses around the country, where they function to serve the national security warfare state.
In tandem with allied institutes and think tanks across the country, these programs, centered at Yale University, Duke University, the University of Texas at Austin, Columbia University, Temple University and, until recently, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, illustrate the increasingly influential role of a new breed of warrior academics in the post-9/11 United States.
US bases in Australia a setback for peace
The new Australia-US deal will allow for 250 US marines to be stationed in Darwin next year, increasing to 2500 by 2016. There will be increased US military ship visits to Darwin and other ports in northern Australia. There will be more US warplanes, including B-52 bombers, based in Darwin. More joint US-Australian military exercises will take place on Australian soil.
US military equipment will be stored in northern Australia, including cluster bombs. These weapons indiscriminately scatter explosive “bomblets” that remain deadly long after conflicts have ended and mainly harm civilians.
Looking Back on the Road to Folly
The expected Iraqi oil bonanza never materialized. Today, Iraq pumps less oil than under Saddam. He threw out western big oil; today, the big US and foreign oil firms are creeping back, hoping to exploit Iraq’s riches. Some 34,000 guards are being hired to protect Iraq’s pipelines. Perhaps Libya’s “liberated” oil may lessen some of the disappointment over Iraqi oil.
President Obama has vowed all US combat troops will quit Iraq by December, 2011. But a shell game is under way. Two or more heavy US mechanized combat brigades are moving just a few hours drive south to new bases in Kuwait, ready to quickly intervene to prop up the tame Maliki regime in Baghdad.
Washington is trying to keep 10,000-20,000 US combat troops in Iraq, rebranded “trainers” and “anti-terrorism forces.” Iraq has balked but may yet give in. The new, huge, heavily fortified US Embassy in Baghdad will have 16,000 employees and its own private army of mercenaries. What happens to the 100,000 other US-paid mercenaries in Iraq is uncertain. One certainty: $34 billion US aid lost through fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan will never be recovered.
Army schedules Dec. 16 pretrial hearing for PFC Bradley Manning
This will be PFC Manning’s first appearance before a court and the first time he will face his accusers after 17 months in confinement. In a blog post this morning, Manning’s lead counsel, David Coombs, notified supporters that the pretrial phase is scheduled to last five days.
New Drone Sensor Could Instantly Spot Any Shooter
Study suggests feelings of guilt may be a top factor in PTSD
The Under-Examined Story of Fallujah
Army Wants Grenade ‘Bots to Fly, Spy, Then Kill
Top Marine says service embracing gay ban repeal
Half of Vets Returning From Iraq and Afghanistan Need Medical Attention
