In October 2011, 16-year-old Tariq Aziz attended a gathering in Islamabad where he was taught how to use a video camera so he could document the drones that were constantly circling over his Pakistani village, terrorizing and killing his family and neighbors. Two days later, when Aziz was driving with his 12-year-old cousin to a …
Continue reading “John Brennan vs. a Sixteen-Year-Old”
Foreign policy played a minor role in a presidential election that focused on jobs, jobs, jobs. But like it or not, the United States is part of a global community in turmoil, and U.S. policies often help fuel that turmoil. The peace movement, decimated during the first Obama term because so many people were unwilling …
Continue reading “Pushing Obama’s Arc Toward Peace”
“You’re not really going to Pakistan, are you?” “You’ve seen the State Department travel warning?” “Don’t they hate us over there?” There are questions our friends and relatives are asking as we embark on a delegation to Pakistan to protest the drone attacks that have killed so many innocent Pakistanis over the past 8 years. …
Continue reading “Americans Take Anti-Drone Stance Directly to Pakistan”
Medea Benjamin and activists banned, harrassed
Counterterrorism adviser John Brennan spoke at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, D.C., on April 30 to mark the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden. It was the first time a high-level member of the Obama administration spoke at length about the U.S. drone strikes that the CIA and the Joint …
Continue reading “Why I Interrupted Obama Counterterrorism Adviser John Brennan”
When is the last time you heard from a civilian victim of the CIA’s secret drone strikes? Sure, most of them can’t speak because they’re deceased. But many leave behind bereaved and angry family members ready to proclaim their innocence and denounce the absence of due process, the lack of accountability, and the utter impunity …
Continue reading “Obama Administration Silencing Pakistani Drone-Strike Lawyer”
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is one of the most powerful lobby organizations in the country. On March 4-6, AIPAC will hold its annual policy conference in Washington, D.C. The speakers include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Republican candidate Newt Gingrich, and a host …
Continue reading “10 Reasons to Keep an Eye on AIPAC”
Two boats full of courageous passengers were on their way to Gaza when they were intercepted on Friday, November 4, by the Israeli military in international waters. We call the passengers courageous because they sailed from Turkey on November 2 with the knowledge that at any moment they might be boarded by Israeli commandos intent …
Continue reading “Jailed for Sailing to Gaza, Challenging the Blockade”
This week marks the beginning of what is supposed to be the final 100 days of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. But if U.S. troops are to leave Iraq at the end of this year as promised — repeatedly — it will take grassroots pressure to counter the growing “occupy Iraq forever” chorus in Washington. …
Continue reading “100 Days of Solidarity With Iraq”
During August recess this year, 81 members of Congress went on a junket to Israel funded by the Israel lobby group AIPAC (well, funded by the American Israel Education Fund, but they are really one and the same) to " learn first-hand about one of our closest friends and allies." While the representatives insist they got a …
Continue reading “Congress Sees Middle East Through AIPAC-Colored Glasses” 
