Robert Fisk wrote in an Independent op-ed, Sept. 28, the day Shimon Peres died, “It was a place called Qana and most of the 106 bodies—half of them children—now lie beneath the UN camp where they were torn to pieces by Israeli shells in 1996. I had been on a UN aid convoy just outside the south Lebanese village. Those shells swished right over our heads and into the refugees packed below us. It lasted for 17 minutes.
“Shimon Peres, standing for election as Israel’s prime minister—a post he inherited when his predecessor Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated—decided to increase his military credentials before polling day by assaulting Lebanon.”
After the slaughter, Peres claimed that he did not know that the site he targeted was a UN camp sheltering hundreds of unarmed refugees. This was a lie because the UN reported that they had informed Israel that the camp was packed with refugees.
Peres it seems was also an ardent supporter of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories, which clearly led to the Israeli colonization of these territories. He was also part of the militia responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian villages during the Nakba.
After the 1967 war in which Israel conquered the West Bank and Gaza, Peres was a champion of those who wanted to build Jewish settlements in the captured territories.
The settlement-building program is considered illegal by much of the international community and a major obstacle towards an eventual peace agreement.
Serving as Rabin’s foreign minister from 1992, Peres was involved in secret negotiations with Yasser Arafat‘s PLO organization that led to the Oslo Accords, which won Peres, Rabin and Arafat the Nobel Peace Prize.
However, in 2002, members of the Norwegian committee that awards the annual Nobel Peace stated they regretted that Peres’ prize could not be recalled because he had not acted to prevent Israel’s re-occupation of Palestinian territory, he had not lived up to the ideals he expressed when he accepted the prize, and he was involved in human rights abuses.
It should be noted that this Nobel Peace Prize winner played a major role in Israel’s secret development of a nuclear weapons program in the 1960s. He also offered to sell nuclear warheads to the apartheid regime of South Africa.
Shimon Peres died this past week at the age of 93. Almost immediately, people across Europe and the US referred to Peres as a “man of peace.”
It appears that the requirements for that designation are not very high.
Another case in point, Henry Kissinger.
Henry A. Kissinger was sworn in on September 22, 1973, as the 56th Secretary of State, a position he held until January 20, 1977. He also served as assistant to the president for National Security Affairs from January 20, 1969, until November 3, 1975.
Kissinger was not known for his concern for human life. In fact, anyone and everyone was expendable in his plan for US hegemony. Here are some quotes attributed to Mr. Kissinger:
“The emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union is not an objective of American foreign policy. And if they put Jews into gas chambers in the Soviet Union, it is not an American concern.” (Please Note: The Soviet Union was not looking to send Jews out of the Union nor exterminate them.)
“[Nixon] wants a massive bombing campaign in Cambodia. He doesn’t want to hear anything about it. It’s an order, to be done. Anything that flies or anything that moves.”
“How many people did [Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary] kill? Tens of thousands? You should tell the Cambodians [i.e., Khmer Rouge] that we will be friends with them. They are murderous thugs, but we won’t let that stand in the way. We are prepared to improve relations with them. Tell them the latter part, but don’t tell them what I said before.”
“It is an act of insanity and national humiliation to have a law prohibiting the president from ordering assassination.”
“I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves.”
This “man of peace” pressed Nixon to overthrow the democratically elected Allende government because they were too far to the left. Allende was a known socialist and Kissinger couldn’t tolerate that. Instead, Henry, the peacemaker, helped install a murderous dictator, Augusto Pinochet, to the presidency of Chile after Allende was overthrown. As a result, tens of thousands of Chileans were murdered by the Pinochet regime while the US offered Pinochet support.
Because of his outstanding contribution to humanity, besides being a friend and mentor to Killary Clinton, Henry. the peacemaker, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973.
In 2009, in concert with his election as president of the United States, Barack Obama was awarded that year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
One cannot argue with the fact that, more than any other US president, Obama has reached out to the Muslim world.
The question is not whether or not Obama has reached out to countries of the Middle East, but how has he reached out.
Shortly after taking office in 2009, Obama authorized two CIA drone strikes in northwest Pakistan which killed a reported single militant while 10 civilians, including 5 children.
Attempting to justify being the recipient of such a prestigious award, Obama went on to authorize 506 drone strikes as of January, 2016. This is 10 times the number of drone strikes authorized by George W. Bush.
Part of the president’s drone policy was the “signature strikes” which allowed for the killing of anonymous men who appear to be associated with terrorists or militants. This policy included the targeting of American citizens.
Obama’s reach to Muslim countries expanded beyond drone strikes. In 2011, with the urging from Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, Obama authorized the US bombing of Libya. Libya provided no threat to US security and Obama acted without the necessary approval from Congress.
An expanded view of the US military involvement in Muslim countries provides us with a clearer view of how President Obama has “reached out” to these sovereign states.
The following states, being no threat to the security of the US, have felt the heavy hand of the US military under the Obama administration:
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Somalia. Let us not forget Yemen which is under attack by Saudi Arabia and being armed by . . . the USA. Also, we must not forget Palestine where Israeli forces have been conducting an ethnic cleansing or genocide program against the Palestinian population using weapons made in the USA.
As we can see, Obama has been fulfilling his promise to reach out to the Muslim community. Unfortunately, he is reaching out with a bomb in his hand.
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter gave a speech at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico (Sept. 27, 2016) re: US “nuclear enterprise.” (WHAT THE F. .K IS A “NUCLEAR ENTERPRISE”?)
He referred to the “nuclear enterprise” as being the bedrock of our (US) security and categorized the nuclear stockpile as deterrents.
Carter stated that the US has been negligent and has underfunded the “nuclear enterprise” while other nuclear powers , Russia and China, have pursued significant advances in their nuclear weaponry.
Once again, the US is portrayed as the potential victim of nuclear attack from other countries. There is no reference made to the reality that it is the US and its allies that are roaming the globe, ignoring the sovereignty of other countries, and destroying and killing. Countries cannot confront the US because the US has the weaponry to erase other countries from existence. So, who is the US defending itself from?
Carter offers no context for his statements, warning that we must beware . . . others are arming themselves. These others would be stupid not to arm themselves. The US has placed Russia and China in their crosshairs. We might also include the often demonized North Korea that remains free of US dominance because it has the nuclear capability to respond to US aggression.
Considering the previous recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, Ash Carter’s presentation on September 27, allows me to recognize him as a likely candidate for the next Nobel Peace Prize.
GOD BLESS AMERIKA!!!
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.
RSS
Men of peace
Posted on October 3, 2016 by Dave Alpert
Robert Fisk wrote in an Independent op-ed, Sept. 28, the day Shimon Peres died, “It was a place called Qana and most of the 106 bodies—half of them children—now lie beneath the UN camp where they were torn to pieces by Israeli shells in 1996. I had been on a UN aid convoy just outside the south Lebanese village. Those shells swished right over our heads and into the refugees packed below us. It lasted for 17 minutes.
“Shimon Peres, standing for election as Israel’s prime minister—a post he inherited when his predecessor Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated—decided to increase his military credentials before polling day by assaulting Lebanon.”
After the slaughter, Peres claimed that he did not know that the site he targeted was a UN camp sheltering hundreds of unarmed refugees. This was a lie because the UN reported that they had informed Israel that the camp was packed with refugees.
Peres it seems was also an ardent supporter of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories, which clearly led to the Israeli colonization of these territories. He was also part of the militia responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian villages during the Nakba.
After the 1967 war in which Israel conquered the West Bank and Gaza, Peres was a champion of those who wanted to build Jewish settlements in the captured territories.
The settlement-building program is considered illegal by much of the international community and a major obstacle towards an eventual peace agreement.
Serving as Rabin’s foreign minister from 1992, Peres was involved in secret negotiations with Yasser Arafat‘s PLO organization that led to the Oslo Accords, which won Peres, Rabin and Arafat the Nobel Peace Prize.
However, in 2002, members of the Norwegian committee that awards the annual Nobel Peace stated they regretted that Peres’ prize could not be recalled because he had not acted to prevent Israel’s re-occupation of Palestinian territory, he had not lived up to the ideals he expressed when he accepted the prize, and he was involved in human rights abuses.
It should be noted that this Nobel Peace Prize winner played a major role in Israel’s secret development of a nuclear weapons program in the 1960s. He also offered to sell nuclear warheads to the apartheid regime of South Africa.
Shimon Peres died this past week at the age of 93. Almost immediately, people across Europe and the US referred to Peres as a “man of peace.”
It appears that the requirements for that designation are not very high.
Another case in point, Henry Kissinger.
Henry A. Kissinger was sworn in on September 22, 1973, as the 56th Secretary of State, a position he held until January 20, 1977. He also served as assistant to the president for National Security Affairs from January 20, 1969, until November 3, 1975.
Kissinger was not known for his concern for human life. In fact, anyone and everyone was expendable in his plan for US hegemony. Here are some quotes attributed to Mr. Kissinger:
“The emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union is not an objective of American foreign policy. And if they put Jews into gas chambers in the Soviet Union, it is not an American concern.” (Please Note: The Soviet Union was not looking to send Jews out of the Union nor exterminate them.)
“[Nixon] wants a massive bombing campaign in Cambodia. He doesn’t want to hear anything about it. It’s an order, to be done. Anything that flies or anything that moves.”
“How many people did [Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary] kill? Tens of thousands? You should tell the Cambodians [i.e., Khmer Rouge] that we will be friends with them. They are murderous thugs, but we won’t let that stand in the way. We are prepared to improve relations with them. Tell them the latter part, but don’t tell them what I said before.”
“It is an act of insanity and national humiliation to have a law prohibiting the president from ordering assassination.”
“I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves.”
This “man of peace” pressed Nixon to overthrow the democratically elected Allende government because they were too far to the left. Allende was a known socialist and Kissinger couldn’t tolerate that. Instead, Henry, the peacemaker, helped install a murderous dictator, Augusto Pinochet, to the presidency of Chile after Allende was overthrown. As a result, tens of thousands of Chileans were murdered by the Pinochet regime while the US offered Pinochet support.
Because of his outstanding contribution to humanity, besides being a friend and mentor to Killary Clinton, Henry. the peacemaker, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973.
In 2009, in concert with his election as president of the United States, Barack Obama was awarded that year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award on October 9, 2009, citing Obama’s promotion of nuclear nonproliferation[2] and a “new climate” in international relations fostered by Obama, especially in reaching out to the Muslim world.
One cannot argue with the fact that, more than any other US president, Obama has reached out to the Muslim world.
The question is not whether or not Obama has reached out to countries of the Middle East, but how has he reached out.
Shortly after taking office in 2009, Obama authorized two CIA drone strikes in northwest Pakistan which killed a reported single militant while 10 civilians, including 5 children.
Attempting to justify being the recipient of such a prestigious award, Obama went on to authorize 506 drone strikes as of January, 2016. This is 10 times the number of drone strikes authorized by George W. Bush.
Part of the president’s drone policy was the “signature strikes” which allowed for the killing of anonymous men who appear to be associated with terrorists or militants. This policy included the targeting of American citizens.
Obama’s reach to Muslim countries expanded beyond drone strikes. In 2011, with the urging from Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, Obama authorized the US bombing of Libya. Libya provided no threat to US security and Obama acted without the necessary approval from Congress.
An expanded view of the US military involvement in Muslim countries provides us with a clearer view of how President Obama has “reached out” to these sovereign states.
The following states, being no threat to the security of the US, have felt the heavy hand of the US military under the Obama administration:
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Somalia. Let us not forget Yemen which is under attack by Saudi Arabia and being armed by . . . the USA. Also, we must not forget Palestine where Israeli forces have been conducting an ethnic cleansing or genocide program against the Palestinian population using weapons made in the USA.
As we can see, Obama has been fulfilling his promise to reach out to the Muslim community. Unfortunately, he is reaching out with a bomb in his hand.
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter gave a speech at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico (Sept. 27, 2016) re: US “nuclear enterprise.” (WHAT THE F. .K IS A “NUCLEAR ENTERPRISE”?)
He referred to the “nuclear enterprise” as being the bedrock of our (US) security and categorized the nuclear stockpile as deterrents.
Carter stated that the US has been negligent and has underfunded the “nuclear enterprise” while other nuclear powers , Russia and China, have pursued significant advances in their nuclear weaponry.
Once again, the US is portrayed as the potential victim of nuclear attack from other countries. There is no reference made to the reality that it is the US and its allies that are roaming the globe, ignoring the sovereignty of other countries, and destroying and killing. Countries cannot confront the US because the US has the weaponry to erase other countries from existence. So, who is the US defending itself from?
Carter offers no context for his statements, warning that we must beware . . . others are arming themselves. These others would be stupid not to arm themselves. The US has placed Russia and China in their crosshairs. We might also include the often demonized North Korea that remains free of US dominance because it has the nuclear capability to respond to US aggression.
Considering the previous recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, Ash Carter’s presentation on September 27, allows me to recognize him as a likely candidate for the next Nobel Peace Prize.
GOD BLESS AMERIKA!!!
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.