Tag: af-pak

The Man With the Plan for Bananastan

The Bananastans, the banana republic-style tar pits in Central Asia that we’ve stumbled into, have rapidly become a bigger cluster bomb than Iraq ever was. At his Senate confirmation hearing, Gen. Stanley McChrystal said the "measure of effectiveness" in Afghanistan "will not be enemy killed. It will be the number of Afghans shielded from violence." … Continue reading “The Man With the Plan for Bananastan”

‘Culturally Sensitive’ Imperialism

In Britain, they’re getting antsy about Obama’s war – the "Af-Pak" [.pdf] war, that is. Without the poodle Tony Blair to cover for us, Britain’s ruling Labor Party – decisively smacked down in the recent elections to the European parliament – is grumbling about being stampeded by the United States into fighting another unpopular war. … Continue reading “‘Culturally Sensitive’ Imperialism”

CIA Secrecy on Drone Attacks Data Hides Abuses

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s refusal to share with other agencies even the most basic data on the bombing attacks by remote-controlled unmanned predator drones in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region, combined with recent revelations that CIA operatives have been paying Pakistanis to identify the targets, suggests that managers of the drone attacks programs have been … Continue reading “CIA Secrecy on Drone Attacks Data Hides Abuses”