Democrats in the House and Senate are going after a set of Pentagon authorities that have for years funded foreign military units across the world without proper oversight, lawmakers say.
Dems target loophole that lets US proxy forces skip human rights vetting
All of the ‘offending’ countries are in Africa! Nothing about Israel or Ukraine?! 🙄
The family of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian American journalist killed by Israel, wrote to Biden, that the U.S. “has been skulking toward the erasure of any wrongdoing by Israeli forces.”
Biden’s visit to Israel poses political risk — as Abu Akleh family demands a meeting
Related:
JERUSALEM – The Abu Akleh family said in a statement issued today that they are incredulous at today’s announcement by the State Department that a test of the spent round that killed Shireen Abu Akleh, an American citizen, was inconclusive as to the origin of the gun that fired it.
Abu Akleh family says it is incredulous at today’s announcement by US State Department on killing of Shireen
Related:
Nick Turse, Alice Speri, The Intercept, Jul 1 2022
Small teams of US SOF are involved in a low-profile proxy war program on a far greater scale than previously known, according to exclusive documents and interviews with more than a dozen current and former government officials. While The Intercept and other outlets have previously reported on the Pentagon’s use of the secretive 127e authority in multiple African countries, a new document obtained through the FoIA offers the first official confirmation that at least 14 127e programs were also active in the greater Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region as recently as 2020. In total, between 2017 and 2020, US commandos conducted at least 23 separate 127e programs across the world. Separately, Joseph Votel, a retired four-star Army general who headed both SOCOM & CENTCOM, which oversees US military efforts in the Middle East, confirmed the existence of previously unrevealed 127e “counter-terrorism” efforts in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.
How The Pentagon Uses A Secretive Program To Wage Proxy Wars
Related:
Top US diplomat Victoria Nuland visited Bangladesh on March 20, aiming to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government to align with the US-NATO war drive against Russia.
Victoria Nuland visits Bangladesh, demanding it support US-NATO war drive against Russia
You know you’re in for a hard sell when the New York Times (3/29/21) publishes an article under the headline “An Alliance of Autocracies? China Wants to Lead a New World Order.”
Need a Quote From an Official Enemy Denouncing Democracy? Do Like the New York Times and Make It Up
By Tim Cushing | TechDirt | December 8, 2020
The NSA shut down its bulk phone records collection — authorized under Section 215 — after it became apparent it wasn’t worth the effort. Reforms put in place by the USA Freedom Act prevented the agency from collecting it all and sorting it out later. Instead, it had to approach telcos with actual targeted requests and only haul away responsive records. The NSA somehow still managed to overcollect records, putting it in violation of the law. The NSA hinted the program had outlived its usefulness anyway, suggesting it had far better collections available under other authorities that it would rather not subject to greater scrutiny.
Patriot Act Used By The FBI To Collect Internet Browsing Data, Contradicting Claims Made To Oversight
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 