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“One of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror. ”

-- George W. Bush

News and Opinion

British Chilcot report slams Tony Blair for joining Iraq war

A British inquiry into the Iraq war strongly criticized former Prime Minister Tony Blair and his government on Wednesday for joining the US-led invasion without a satisfactory legal basis or proper planning.

The Chilcot report, named after former diplomat and civil servant John Chilcot who served as the chair of the inquiry, said there was no imminent threat from Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in March 2003, and the chaos in Iraq and the region which followed should also have been foreseen.

The long-awaited inquiry report stopped short of saying military action was illegal, a stance that is certain to disappoint Blair's many critics.

"We have, however, concluded that the circumstances in which it was decided that there was a legal basis for military action were far from satisfactory," Chilcot said in a speech presenting his findings.

The report said Britain had joined the invasion without exhausting peaceful options, that it had underestimated the consequences of the invasion, and that the planning was wholly inadequate. The invasion and subsequent instability in Iraq had, by 2009, resulted in the deaths of at least 150,000 Iraqis, mostly civilians, and displaced more than a million.

Iraqi Exile: U.K. Iraq Inquiry Confirms the War Was Based on a Lie

Chilcot delivers crushing verdict on Blair and the Iraq war

Chilcot’s report is more damning than expected and amounts to arguably the most scathing official verdict given on any modern British prime minister. His 2.6m-word, 12-volume report was released on Wednesday morning, together with a 145-page executive summary.

It concludes:

• There was no imminent threat from Saddam Hussein.

• The strategy of containment could have been adopted and continued for some time.

• The judgments about the severity of the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction – WMDs – were presented with a certainty that was not justified.

• Despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion were underestimated. The planning and preparations for Iraq after Saddam were wholly inadequate.

• The government failed to achieve its stated objectives.

It report also sheds fresh light on the private discussions between Blair and the US president, George W Bush, in the run-up to war. The report says that after the 9/11 attacks Blair urged Bush “not to take hasty action on Iraq”. The UK’s formal policy was to contain Saddam’s regime.

But by the time the two leaders met in April 2002 at Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, the UK’s thinking had undergone “a profound change”. The joint intelligence committee had concluded that Saddam could not be removed “without an invasion”, with the government saying Iraq was a threat “that had to be dealt with”. ...

The report also demolishes Blair’s claim made when he gave evidence to the inquiry in 2010 that the difficulties encountered by British forces in post-invasion Iraq could not have been known in advance.

“We do not agree that hindsight is required,” Chilcot says. “The risks of internal strife in Iraq, active Iranian pursuit of its interests, regional instability, and al-Qaida activity in Iraq, were each explicitly identified before the invasion.”

Blair would've been a better human being had he admitted the obvious mistakes in Iraq

Chilcot report: Tony Blair, the Iraq War, and the words of mass destruction that continue to deceive

By an accident of history, the Chilcot inquiry on the Iraq War is appearing at a critical moment in British history. The war was the first great test this century of the ability of the British powers-that-be to govern intelligently and successfully and one which they demonstrably failed. The crisis provoked by the vote to leave the European Union is the next crisis of similar gravity faced by these same powers and, once again, they appear unable to cope.

ritain’s politicians and senior officials have traditionally had the reputation of making fewer mistakes than their rivals, but their inability to grapple with these crises is a sign that this period may be drawing to an end. The Chilcot report will presumably provide evidence about why Britain made so many mistakes before and during the Iraq war, but is unlikely to explain why it went on making them in Libya and Syria. ...

These failures [in Iraq] should have given pause to anybody in authority in Britain plunging into foreign ventures which destabilised established states with no idea of what would replace them. Nevertheless, in 2011 David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy did not hesitate to lead the charge in overthrowing Muammar Gaddafi in a war which turned Libya into a battleground for rival warlords and opened the door for a flood of desperate migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy.

In Syria, British policy was for long predicated on the expectation that Bashar al-Assad was about to fall, though it should have been self-evident that this was not going to happen since he held most of the populated areas of the country and was backed by Russia and Iran. ...

In all wars propagandists get free range, but a distinctive feature of the Iraq war saw the blatancy and mendacity of official attempts to manipulate American and British public opinion which were probably worse than anything seen in either country since the First World War.

Obama slows troop drawdown in Afghanistan

President Barack Obama is slowing the drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, leaving 8,400 troops there into next year.

Originally he had planned to drop troop levels to 5,500 by the end of the year. ...

Obama says the security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious. And he says Afghan security forces are not as strong as they need to be.

Goodness, the metrics of success that the Obama administration uses do seem quite strange.

State Dept: Growing ISIS Attacks a Sign of US War ‘Success’

Over the weekend, the Obama Administration presented the massive Saturday night ISIS attack in Baghdad as something that only “bolstered” America’s resolve to win the war militarily. Today, Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken insisted that it wasn’t just about resolve, that the bombings themselves were a sign of America’s military success. ...

Blinken argued that the US war is going so well, with the US beating them by “every single measure,” that ISIS is launching even more attacks than ever, saying the attacks too are “a measure of the success we’re having” in defeating them militarily.

Hey looky, the Saudis are "winning," too!

Bombings in Saudi Arabia Mark Another ISIS Escalation

While Western officials continue to present ISIS as a shrinking threat, the faction continues to expand worldwide, launching several major attacks across the world over the past week. The least deadly attacks, ironically, might be among the most significant.

Over the weekend, three coordinated bombings were carried out in Saudi Arabia, hitting Qatif, Jeddah, and Medina. The attacks killed a total of four people, tiny compared to attacks in Dhaka, Istanbul, and especially Baghdad in recent days.

This is different though, because this is Saudi Arabia. Though ISIS has recruited and sought funding in the Kingdom, but attacks have been pretty rare. The Medina attack, targeting a hugely important mosque in one of Islam’s holiest cities, represents a major escalation.

Chris Hedges: Saudi Wahhabism a Tool of U.S. Foreign Policy

Colombia's largest rebel group will stop collecting war taxes

The highest-profile leader of Colombia's largest rebel group — the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC — has ordered his troops to stop collecting "taxes" in territories it dominates. ...

He said the order was designed to underline the FARC's commitment to the peace talks with the government that have already produced a definitive ceasefire and are expected to bring a final accord by the end of the month, followed by the demobilization of the rebels. ...

Though a final peace accord now seems inevitable, the government of President Juan Manuel Santos has promised to put it to a referendum, probably later this year.

A poll published on Sunday by the company Ipsos, however, suggested support for the peace deal is currently far from overwhelming, with many Colombians still not sure what they think of peace. The survey found 36 percent of those questioned said they would vote yes in a referendum, while 25 percent would vote no.

FBI recommends 'no charges' against Clinton

Washington Has Been Obsessed With Punishing Secrecy Violations — until Hillary Clinton

Secrecy is a virtual religion in Washington. Those who violate its dogma have been punished in the harshest and most excessive manner – at least when they possess little political power or influence. As has been widely noted, the Obama administration has prosecuted more leakers under the 1917 Espionage Act than all prior administrations combined. Secrecy in DC is so revered that even the most banal documents are reflexively marked classified, making their disclosure or mishandling a felony. As former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden said back in 2000, “Everything’s secret. I mean, I got an email saying ‘Merry Christmas.’ It carried a top secret NSA classification marking.”

People who leak to media outlets for the selfless purpose of informing the public – Daniel Ellsberg, Tom Drake, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden – face decades in prison. Those who leak for more ignoble and self-serving ends – such as enabling hagiography (Leon Panetta, David Petreaus) or ingratiating oneself to one’s mistress (Petraeus) – face career destruction, though they are usually spared if they are sufficiently Important-in-DC. For low-level, powerless Nobodies-in-DC, even the mere mishandling of classified information – without any intent to leak but merely to, say, work from home – has resulted in criminal prosecution, career destruction and the permanent loss of security clearance.

This extreme, unforgiving, unreasonable, excessive posture toward classified information came to an instant halt in Washington today – just in time to save Hillary Clinton’s presidential aspirations. ...

[See article for detailed discussion of Comey's findings about Clinton's handling of classified materials. - js]

Despite all of these highly incriminating findings, Comey explained, the FBI is recommending to the Justice Department that Clinton not be charged with any crime. ... The sort of leniency and mercy and prosecutorial restraint Comey extended today to Hillary Clinton is simply unavailable for most Americans.

House Oversight chairman: Comey to testify Thursday

House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) announced that FBI Director James Comey will testify before his panel on Thursday regarding the bureau's investigation of Hillary Clinton's email practices.

"Congress and the American people have a right to understand the depth and breadth of the FBI's investigation," Chaffetz said in a statement announcing that Comey had agreed to his request.

BREAKING: @jasoninthehouse calls FBI Director Comey to testify Thursday at 10 AM. https://t.co/hBfNevqlfB

— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) July 6, 2016

FBI Director Comey Preempts Justice Department By Advising No Charges for Hillary Clinton

FBI Director James Comey took the unprecedented step of publicly preempting a Justice Department prosecution when he declared at a press conference Tuesday that “no reasonable prosecutor” would bring a case against Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server.

The FBI’s job is to investigate crimes; it is Justice Department prosecutors who are supposed to decide whether or not to move forward. But in a case that had enormous political implications, Comey decided the FBI would act on its own. ...

Legal experts could not recall another time that the FBI had made its recommendation so publicly.

“It’s not unusual for the FBI to take a strong positions on whether charges should be brought in a case,” said University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck. “The unusual part is publicizing it.”

Hillary Clinton's Emails and the Dangers of Conducting Diplomacy in Private

Almost Nothing Hillary Clinton Told the American People About Her Emails Was True

Failing up has become the hallmark of the Obama administration. Help crash the biggest bank in the country and take a bonus for yourself from the taxpayer bailout and you fail up as U.S. Treasury Secretary. Work as the lawyer for the Wall Street banks that crashed the U.S. economy and you fail up as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Become a partner at the law firm named in an historic court decision as a co-conspirator with Big Tobacco and you end up as the head of the Justice Department or the head of its criminal division. Fail to rein in systemic Wall Street abuses before they crash the U.S. economy in the greatest downturn since the Great Depression and the President will bestow even greater regulatory powers on you under the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation.

Now President Obama is going on the stump to make sure his former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has the ultimate experience in failing up – all the way to the Oval Office. As President Obama was preparing to escort Hillary Clinton to a presidential campaign event yesterday on Air Force One, the Director of the FBI, James Comey, held a press conference to call her handling of Top Secret national security matters “extremely careless” and contradicted her serially false statements to the public about the matter.

Two scathing reports have now been issued by separate investigators into Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified national security matters over a non-government, private computer server located in the basement of her home. The first was issued by the State Department’s Inspector General at the end of May. It found that Clinton had told multiple untruths in the matter. The second report followed a criminal investigation and was delivered verbally yesterday by FBI Director James Comey. It also eviscerated multiple falsehoods Clinton has told the American people for more than a year.

US Government Approved 100% Of Wiretap Applications In 2015

A ten-year study of how state and federal law enforcement wiretaps suspects, conducted by the Federal Judiciary, looked at the prevalence of the FBI and state and local police petitioning for a warrant to surveil someone. Methods range from tracking their computer activity to bugging a home telephone or a room, though it overwhelmingly—96 percent of the time 2015—meant tracking or listening to their cell phone calls. It has become a common enough practice that in a ten-year span, a wiretap request has been denied only eight times, and never more than twice in a year. According to the report, “No wiretap applications were reported as denied in 2015.” ...

The number of wiretaps that courts approve has steadily risen over the past decade, to the point where they’ve more than doubled from 1,774 in 2005 to 4,148 in 2015.

Of course this would never happen in the US. Well, the reporting of it at least.

UK Police Accessed Civilian Data for Fun and Profit, New Report Says

More than 800 UK police staff inappropriately accessed personal information between June 2011 and December 2015, according to a report from activist group Big Brother Watch.

The report says some police staff used their access to a growing trove of police data, which includes personal information on civilians, for entertainment and personal and financial gain.

The report, which is based on Freedom of Information requests sent to all UK police forces, raises questions about the police's ability to protect civilian data. ...

Not only was some information not needed for official police work, according to the report, but was shared with third parties outside the police, including some organized crime groups, 877 times.

In total, 2,315 incidents of inappropriate access or distribution of data were reported.

The majority of incidents, 1,283, ended up with no disciplinary action taking place, while 297 ended in a resignation or dismissal, 258 resulted in a written or verbal warning, and 70 led to a criminal conviction or caution.

Protests in Baton Rouge after Louisiana police shoot Alton Sterling dead

A white Louisiana police officer shot and killed a black man following a confrontation outside a Baton Rouge convenience store, authorities said.

An autopsy showed Alton Sterling, 37, of Baton Rouge, died on Tuesday of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back, said East Baton Rouge parish coroner Dr William Clark.

Officers had responded to the store at about 12.35am on Tuesday after an anonymous caller indicated a man selling music CDs and wearing a red shirt had threatened him with a gun, said corporal L’Jean McKneely. ...

The store’s owner, Abdul Muflahi, told WAFB-TV that the first officer used a Taser on Sterling and the second officer tackled the man. Muflahi said that as Sterling fought to get the officer off him the first officer shot him “four to six times”.

Video of the shooting that circulated on Twitter sparked outrage.

Muflani said Sterling did not have a gun in his hand at the time but he saw officers remove a gun from Sterling’s pocket after the shooting.

Alton Sterling is just one of at least 2,611 people killed by police since Ferguson. https://t.co/wT3bp6HVyH

— Vox (@voxdotcom) July 6, 2016

Growing Opposition Forces EU into 'Humiliating Climbdown' on CETA

Signaling more trouble ahead for the maligned EU-Canada trade deal known as CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement), the European Commission on Tuesday "performed a startling U-turn" in announcing that national parliaments would have to ratify the pact.  

As Politico's European bureau pointed out:

The need for approval from almost 40 national and regional assemblies not only threatens to scupper the Canadian deal itself, but delivers an ominous signal to British politicians who insist that the U.K. could negotiate a quick post-Brexit trade accord with the EU.

Previously, the deal was slated for a kind of "fast-track" process that would not have required nation-by-nation approval. 

As such, trade campaigners celebrated Tuesday's news, saying the Commission's reversal reflects growing opposition to CETA as well as the similarly toxic TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the U.S. and Europe.

Despite Mass Protests, France Passes Maligned Labor Bill Without Debate

As protesters marched through Paris on Tuesday, France's lower house of Parliament rammed through a controversial labor proposal—which would give companies more power to fire workers and extend hours—without a vote.

According to Agence France-Presse, the bill now goes to the Senate, then returns to the lower house for a final decision later this month.

French labor unions organized an 11th-hour march against the proposal on Tuesday. Its passage comes after months of protests that often ended in clashes between police and demonstrators and have caused at least a few senior members of President François Hollande's Socialist party to implore the government to abandon the legislation.

"This is a counterproductive law socially and economically," Marie-Jose Kotlicki, a member of the instrumental CGT union, told Reuters. "The government is making a mistake in underestimating the level of discontent over this law."

Developing: Suicide Attempt Unconfirmed, But Chelsea Manning Reportedly Taken to Hospital

U.S. military whistleblower Chelsea Manning was taken to the hospital on Wednesday. Though one reporter tweeted that it was a suspected suicide attempt, the reason for the medical visit is still unconfirmed.

Chelsea Manning suspected of attempting suicide. Was taken to a hospital Tuesday from Fort Leavenworth, CNN.

— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) July 6, 2016

Reports of Chelsea's suicide attempt are unconfirmed. We just know that she was taken to the hospital & are trying to learn more.

— Chase Strangio (@chasestrangio) July 6, 2016

Sanders Files Permit Request for Huge Rally on Eve of Democratic Convention

Permit application request estimates crowd of 15,000 to 40,000 people could attend event in Philadelphia's Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park

Bernie Sanders' next signature rally may take place in Philadelphia—the night before the Democratic National Convention.

The Vermont senator's campaign has applied for a permit to hold an event that will reportedly host between 15,000 to 40,000 people on July 24 at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park. It is one of 10 such pro-Sanders events requesting permission from the Philadelphia mayor's office, the Burlington Free Press reports.

Sanders spokesperson Michael Briggs said last month that the senator was planning to deliver a "victory statement" in Philadelphia, but said on Wednesday that plans for the rally are still being finalized.

Sanders Meets With House Democrats Behind Closed Doors

Bernie Sanders is meeting with House Democrats behind closed doors this morning, and some members are vocally challenging the Vermont senator on why he has yet to endorse Hillary Clinton for president, Politico reports:

Some House Dems booed Sanders, who wouldn't back from his refusal to endorse Clinton, per sources in room. Some tough questions for him

— John Bresnahan (@BresPolitico) July 6, 2016

Full Sanders quote: "The goal isn't to win elections, the goal is to transform America." Dems booed.

— John Bresnahan (@BresPolitico) July 6, 2016

Bernie gets booed by DNC Democrats, Clinton gets booed by teachers:

Clinton's Pro-Charter School Comments Draw Boos from Teachers Union

Hillary Clinton was booed at a National Education Association (NEA) event on Tuesday after suggesting that public schools have something to learn from their charter counterparts.

"When schools get it right, whether they're traditional public schools or public charter schools, let's figure out what’s working and share it with schools across America," she said to the labor union's annual conference in Washington, D.C., provoking audible boos. "Rather than starting from ideology, let's start from what’s best for our kids."

She went on to specifically denounce "for-profit charter schools," but as Politico noted, "[a]t some charter schools...the distinction between for-profit and nonprofit status is murky."

So too is Clinton's own stance on the corporate education system. Politico reports:

The Clintons are longtime charter school supporters, but charters are opposed by many teachers union members. Clinton was endorsed in October by the NEA — at a critical time in the Democratic primary. But Clinton’s support for charters has created some unease among rank-and-file union members, some of whom view charter schools as a threat to the survival of traditional schools. Soon after Clinton received the NEA endorsement last fall, Clinton surprised charter school backers when she criticized charter schools that "don't take the hardest-to-teach kids, or, if they do, they don't keep them.”

Clinton has been a big charter supporter since her husband's presidency. Safe to assume that support will continue https://t.co/HwU3RmdfzZ

— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) July 5, 2016

This election year, we can't lose sight of the perils of climate change

Every election year, candidates for office engage in a perverse form of theater. Some flatter voters or try to scare them, others offer promises of a better future. Unfortunately, few candidates feel an obligation to follow through on campaign pledges or grapple with serious problems confronting our country and planet.

Take Barack Obama. He has done far less on climate than his supporters might have expected. Despite claiming COP21 as a victory, Obama’s legacy will tell the story of the US surpassing all other nations in oil and gas production. Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, has called the US “a global warming machine”, adding: “At the moment when physics tell us we should be jamming on the carbon brakes, America is revving the engine.”

Today, that lack of leadership on climate change continues. Candidates running for Congress and the presidency aren’t offering real solutions, despite growing scientific alarm. ...

How many casualties, destroyed communities, flooded coastlands, diminished snow packs feeding key Asian rivers, drought-ridden agricultural belts and new disease vectors, will it take to move a more organized American public to demand a transformation of US energy policy? People care about this issue, so why don’t our elected officials seem to reflect that concern? ...

This election, voters need to push candidates to support measures that will address the problems associated with climate change – and reporters need to cover this momentous story rigorously. It is time for citizens to organize town meetings and rallies on climate change. It is time for action.

Mining companies keep draining Arctic lakes and moving all of their fish

In what's being called a "fishout program," Canada's most remote northern territory has given the go-ahead for a mining company to drain an entire lake and relocate all of its fish. Once mining is done, the company plans to re-flood the lakebed and put the fish back.

Though the plan may seem absurd at first blush, it's actually the second time the mining company has relocated fish from a lake in order to expand its open pit Meadowbank gold mine — a practice by mining companies that's become surprisingly common in northern Canada. ...

It's unlikely all the fish will survive the relocation. In the company's previous lake-draining fish relocation, 40 percent of the fish died. And in a January 15 letter, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans warned the company that Wally Lake "may already be at carrying capacity," meaning new fish would have to compete for the same resources as the fish that are already there. That could mean even more dead fish. ...

In its previous fishout, the company said the dead fish were either fed to dogs, or used for biological research — but it hopes to have better success this time around.

Offshore wind costs hit record low

The Danish company committed to supply electricity at €72.70/MWh (US$80.40), not including transmission costs. The cables will add about €14/MWh, experts say.

That beats an industry goal of bringing costs below €100/MWh by 2020. The closest any rival had previously come was €103/MWh by Vattenfall in Denmark last year. ...

It brings a relatively expensive form of renewable energy a step closer to competing on cost with conventional power stations.

Joy credited the Dutch government for creating a favourable regulatory environment, helped by market and site-specific conditions. ...

Steel to build the turbines is fairly cheap, while low oil prices mean developers can get a bargain on installation vessels that would otherwise serve drilling rigs.

Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

The Sanders Revolution: North Dakota as an Example of the Long Tail of Grass Roots Activism

Jeremy Corbyn: The Iraq War Was an Act of Military Aggression Launched on a False Pretext: Remarks on the Chilcot Inquiry Report

Chilcot Report: Tony Blair Told George W. Bush “If We Win Quickly, Everyone Will Be Our Friend.”

Why Hillary Clinton Should be Prosecuted for Reckless Abuses of National Security

'What I did was allowed': fact-checking Clinton's statements on email inquiry

Is the 2016 presidential campaign beyond satire?

Leaker, Speaker, Soldier, Spy
The Charmed Life of David Petraeus

Media Love to Criticize Trump–When It Helps Disparage US Enemies

A Little Night Music

Jimmy Johnson - You Don't Know What Love Is

Jimmy Johnson with the Paulie Cerra Band - Little By Little

Jimmy Johnson with Chris Cain - Serves me right to suffer

Jimmy Johnson Blues Band - As the years go passing by

Jimmy Johnson - I Need Some Easy Money

Jimmy Johnson - Cold, Cold Feeling

Jimmy Johnson - Looking For My Baby

Jimmy Johnson - Strange How I Miss You

Jimmy Johnson Band - Long Beach Blues Festival, 1986