NPR Distorts History of US Invasion of Afghanistan
If the Bush administration had wanted to “defend Americans from another terrorist attack,” it would have pursued the criminal network* responsible for the original attack. Instead, it wanted vengeance, and launched an illegal war that killed thousands of innocent people.
Missing link:
Afghan Central Bank Funds Belong to Afghans, Not 9/11 Families
*That would have required pursuing the Bush Administration. 😉
A quarter of America’s 400 wars have been in the Middle East and Africa, study finds
“Given the current landscape of interventions, and inertia, we expect to see a continuing upward trend on US interventions in both MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa,” warned Toft.
Related:
By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram – Jul 26, 2022
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 26 2022 (IPS) – Like so many others, Africans have long been misled. Alleged progress under imperialism has long been used to legitimize exploitation. Meanwhile, Western colonial powers have been replaced by neo-colonial governments and international institutions serving their interests.
Africa taken for ‘neo-colonial’ ride
Minister Pandor made these statements while sitting next to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken
South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor has warned global powers against dictating how African countries should respond to global issues saying South Africa will never accept what she termed “patronising bullying”.
South African Minister Tells West To Stop “Patronising Bullying” On Ukraine
Related:
Blinken: US Won’t ‘Dictate Africa’s Choices’ on Russia, But…
In South Africa, Blinken has been pressed about legislation passed by the House this year that aims – in the words of its author, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) – to “counter the malign influence and activities of the Russian Federation and its proxies in Africa.”
The text describes Russia’s “malign influence and activities” as those “that undermine United States objectives and interests.” – i.e, US corporate interests!
Last week, Pandor offered pointed criticism of the legislation, describing it as an “unprecedented” measure that is “intended to punish countries in Africa that have not toed the line on the Russia-Ukraine war.”
The Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act passed the House in April in a 415-9 vote, and now faces Senate consideration.
‘Offensive’
At a joint press briefing with Blinken on Monday, Pandor expressed the hope the Senate would reject the “offensive” bill.
“When we believe in freedom, as I’m saying, it’s freedom for everybody, you can’t say because Africa is doing this, you will then be punished by the United States,” she said.
Pandor argued that South Africa’s position on Ukraine was one of abhorring war and supporting a search for peace.
She also suggested that the U.S. employs double standards, by supporting freedom for Ukraine but not for the Palestinians.
“We should be equally concerned at what is happening to the people of Palestine as we are with what is happening to the people of Ukraine,” she said. “We’ve not seen an even-handed approach in the utilization of the prescripts of international law.”
In a television interview in Johannesburg earlier in the day, Blinken was asked about the House legislation, and said, “I can only speak for our administration and for the president. Our focus is not on saying to friends, partners: you have to choose.” – liar!
In contrast to those diplomatic words, when the Meeks bill was first marked up by the committee he chairs, ranking member and co-sponsor of the legislation Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) spoke of the need to “make every state choose between doing business with the free world or with a war criminal” – the latter a reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin. – then they shouldn’t be doing business with any NATO country!
By TJ Coles, Aug 12 2022
Britain has played a key role in NATO forward troop deployments and training exercises on Russia’s borders. With war underway, the UK sends billions in arms, special forces, and volunteers to ensure escalation.
How Britain fueled Ukraine’s war machine and invited direct conflict with Russia
Secretive British ‘dirty tricks’ unit smeared Kenya’s leftist vice president during the Cold War
A covert unit within the British Foreign Office targeted Kenya’s first vice president, Oginga Odinga, in the 1960s as part of a “black propaganda” campaign, The Guardian reported on Saturday, citing newly declassified documents. After Kenyan independence from the UK in 1963, London perceived the left-wing politician as a threat to its interests, according to the papers.
UK waged ‘dirty’ propaganda operation in Africa
For the U.S., it is unthinkable that semiconductor behemoth TSMC could one day be in territory controlled by Beijing, writes Maria Ryan.
One aspect of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan that has been largely overlooked is her meeting with Mark Lui, chairman of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC). Pelosi’s trip coincided with U.S. efforts to convince TSMC – the world’s largest chip manufacturer, on which the U.S. is heavily dependent – to establish a manufacturing base in the US and to stop making advanced chips for Chinese companies.
Big Chip in US-China Crisis
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Myanmar on August 3 shows that the relationship is assuming a strategic character. The Foreign Ministry in a press release on August 2 highlighted that the relationship is “one of the priorities of foreign policy in the Asia–Pacific region, an important factor in ensuring peace, stability and sustainable development.”
Moscow prioritises ties with Myanmar
Thomas Friedman wrote Monday in a column for the New York Times that there was a deeper mistrust between the White House and Volodymyr Zelenskyy than what has been reported.
New York Times columnist: Deeper mistrust between Biden and Zelenskyy than people know
Related:
Why Pelosi’s Visit to Taiwan Is Utterly Reckless
The timing could not be worse. Dear reader: The Ukraine war is not over. And privately, U.S. officials are a lot more concerned about Ukraine’s leadership than they are letting on. There is deep mistrust between the White House and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky — considerably more than has been reported.
And there is funny business going on in Kyiv. On July 17, Zelensky fired his country’s prosecutor general and the leader of its domestic intelligence agency — the most significant shake-up in his government since the Russian invasion in February. It would be the equivalent of Biden firing Merrick Garland and Bill Burns on the same day. But I have still not seen any reporting that convincingly explains what that was all about. It is as if we don’t want to look too closely under the hood in Kyiv for fear of what corruption or antics we might see, when we have invested so much there. (More on the dangers of that another day.)
Perhaps you’ve heard: not only is Moscow about to maraud its way through Ukraine, not only is Tsar Vladimir I seeking a new Eurasian empire, but – as if to add insult to injury – Russia is “returning” to Africa in a big way, intent on “displacing” the influence of the continent’s apparently rightful influencers (interesting language, that – no?). Anyway, at least that’s the hyper-panicked Russophobic narrative emanating from America’s top think tanks, papers of record, and bipartisan but paltry politicians.
‘I Know You Are But What Am I’: Russia’s Ready Response to US Africa-Alarmism
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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