Brett Wilkins

An unconfirmed number of Afghan civilians – reportedly more than 60 – were killed along with the regional leader of a splinter Taliban faction and dozens of militants in a US drone attack in Herat province on Wednesday. Local government officials and members of the Herat provincial council told Tolo News, Afghanistan’s leading 24/7 television … Continue reading “Report: US Drone Strike Kills 60 Afghan Civilians, Taliban Commander”

In 1965, the Lyndon B. Johnson administration backed a military coup by a right-wing Indonesian general named Suharto –  who like many Javanese used only his given name –  that overthrew Sukarno, hero of his country’s freedom struggle against Dutch colonialism and its first post-independence president. Sukarno, an ardent anti-imperialist, had made the fatal errors … Continue reading “Blood On Whose Hands?”

The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened a three-day hearing in the The Hague, Netherlands on Wednesday at which prosecutors and Afghan torture victims are attempting to convince the court to overturn a previous decision to refuse to investigate war crimes committed by Taliban, Afghan government and US forces. (Un)Folding Under Pressure In April, the ICC … Continue reading “ICC Holds Hearing on Afghanistan War Crimes, Including US Torture”

For the third straight year, President Donald Trump has issued waivers to a law that prohibits US military assistance to nations whose armies or proxy militias include children among their ranks. The White House recently announced the US was granting full or partial waivers to the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) to Afghanistan, Democratic Republic … Continue reading “For 9th Straight Year, US Grants Waivers to Countries Violating Anti-Child Soldier Law”

A recent US drone strike targeting Islamic State (IS) militants in northeastern Somalia accidentally killed two civilians gathering frankincense, according to village elders and a survivor interviewed by Voice of America. VOA reports the attack occurred during the afternoon on October 25 near Ameyra, a remote village in the Golis Mountain region of Bari province … Continue reading “Somali Villagers Say US Drone Strike Kills Civilians Gathering Frankincense”

To be clear, what follows is not an endorsement of a continued US military presence in Syria. There is, however, a difference between President Donald Trump attempting to fulfill a campaign promise to end American involvement in wars that have cost so much in blood and treasure and giving the green light to what many … Continue reading “‘No Friend But the Mountains’: A History of US Betrayal of the Kurds”

Turn on any US cable news network or click on any mainstream media news story about the Turkish offensive in Syria and you’ll see lots of worrying about civilian casualties. On the first day of the Turkish campaign, all the major networks covered the mass exodus of Kurds facing imminent bombing and invasion, with most … Continue reading “Mainstream Media Suddenly Care About Syrian Civilian Casualties”

In keeping with his administration’s consistent practice of appointing people who are inimical to the stated missions of the government agencies they’re tapped to lead, President Donald Trump has nominated a staunch advocate of torture to a top human rights position at the State Department. Last week 21 human rights groups including Human Rights Watch, … Continue reading “Rights Groups Urge Senate To Reject Nomination of Torture Advocate Marshall Billingslea to Top Human Rights Post”

Former Blackwater USA guard Nicholas Slatten was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison nearly eight months after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder for his role in the September 2007 massacre of 17 Iraqi civilians at Nisour Square in Baghdad. "The jury got it exactly right, this was murder," US Judge Royce … Continue reading “Ex-Blackwater Guard Nicholas Slatten Sentenced to Life for Nisour Square Massacre”

Five of the 24 men sentenced last week by an Italian court to life in prison for their roles in a brutal and bloody US-backed Cold War campaign against South American dissidents graduated from a notorious US Army school once known for teaching torture, assassination and democracy suppression. On July 8 judges in Rome’s Court … Continue reading “Five Men Sentenced to Life for Operation Condor Killings Trained at School of the Americas”