R.I.P. The 2976 American #people that lost their lives on 9/11 and R.I.P. the 48,644 #Afghan and 1,690,903 #Iraqi and 35000 #Pakistani people that paid the ultimate price for a crime they did not commit

A 10-year #update to this:

https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/papers/2023/IndirectDeaths

Why did the #US #Imperium go after Julian #Assange? What did he do?

As Chris #Hedges writes on #Substack in a sermon he gave on August 20 in Oslo entitied “The Crucifixion of Julian Assange”: they came after him because he told the truth - again and again!

[Full disclosure: I’m an atheist but I am also a great admirer of Hedges’ writings & his passionate opposition to the criminal, warmongering ruling classes!]

“They came after Julian because he exposed the more than 15,000 unreported deaths of #Iraqi civilians;

because he exposed the torture and abuse of some 800 men and boys, aged between 14 and 89, at #Guantánamo;

because he exposed that Hillary #Clinton in 2009 ordered U.S. diplomats to spy on U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and other U.N. representatives from China, France, Russia, and the U.K., spying that included obtaining DNA, iris scans, fingerprints, and personal passwords (part of the long pattern of illegal surveillance that included the eavesdropping on U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in the weeks before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003);

because he exposed that Barack #Obama, Hillary Clinton and the #CIA backed the June 2009 military coup in #Honduras that overthrew the democratically elected president Manuel Zelaya, replacing him with a murderous and corrupt military regime;

because he exposed that George W. #Bush, Barack Obama and General David #Petraeus prosecuted a war in Iraq that under post-Nuremberg laws is defined as a criminal war of aggression, a war crime;

that they authorized hundreds of targeted assassinations, including those of U.S. citizens in #Yemen, and that they secretly launched missile, bomb, and drone attacks on Yemen, killing scores of civilians;

because Julian exposed the contents of the speeches Hillary Clinton gave to Goldman Sachs for which she was paid $675,000, a sum so large it can only be considered a bribe, and that she privately assured corporate leaders she would do their bidding while promising the public financial regulation and reform;

because he exposed how the hacking tools used by the CIA and the National Security Agency [#NSA] permit the wholesale government surveillance of our televisions, computers, smart phones and anti-virus software, allowing the government to record and store our conversations, images and private text messages, even from encrypted apps.

Julian exposed the truth. He exposed it over and over and over until there was no question of the endemic illegality, corruption and mendacity that defines the global ruling class And for these truths they came after Julian, as they have come after all who dared rip back the veil on power.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/chrishedges/p/the-crucifixion-of-julian-assange?r=27oltk&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post

While the #US uses the Orwellian lie that “no American lives have been lost so we haven’t been waging war on much of the rest of the world for the past two decades”, reality is that the ‘exceptionalist’ imperium that is the United States has, in fact, been engaged in ‘permanent war’ during this time.

Yet, because of craven the media silence on this issue, the American public rarely sees the human (and wider) consequences of the imperial violence its government wages in their name & using their tax dollars.

In this powerful interview on the The #Intercept’s #Deconstructed podcast (you can listen to it or read it by clicking on the link below), Norman #Solomon, a journalist and longtime antiwar activist, says that this silence is “by design”.

In his latest book, “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine,” Solomon lays bare the role of government and media in concealing the consequences of war & the utter mendacity & hypocrisy that underpins the blatant criminality of the US imperial war machine!

He breaks down how American politicians, alongside mainstream media, spin lies and hide the true cost of their wars.

Particularly persuasive are the Solomon’s illustrations of how media outlets have been coopted into producing what is essentially war propaganda and how journalists who seek to question the honesty of government officials are routinely silenced.

Solomon makes a striking comparison between the American media’s strong interest in the losses endured by Ukrainian civilians after the recent #Russian invasion of #Ukraine and its indifference to the fate of arguably millions of #Iraqi civilians after America’s invasion in 2003.

Among a series of great quotes featured in the podcast is the famous letter that writer & theologian Thomas Merton wrote to a friend of his as the #Vietnam War was gearing up in the 1960s.

Merton states, “The world is full of great criminals with enormous power, and they are in a death struggle with each other. It’s a huge gang battle of supremely well-armed and well-organized gangsters, using well-meaning lawyers and policemen and clergymen as their front, controlling papers, means of communication, and enrolling everybody in their armies. Let us avoid false optimism and approved gestures, and seek truth.”

https://theintercept.com/2023/08/11/deconstructed-podcast-norman-solomon-american-wars/

While the #US uses the Orwellian lie that “no American lives have been lost so we haven’t been waging war on much of the rest of the world for the past two decades”, reality is that the ‘exceptionalist’ imperium that is the United States has, in fact, been engaged in ‘permanent war’ during this time.

Yet, because of craven the media silence on this issue, the American public rarely sees the human (and wider) consequences of the imperial violence its government wages in their name & using their tax dollars.

In this powerful interview on the @Intercept’s #Deconstructed podcast (you can listen to it or read it by clicking on the link below), Norman #Solomon, a journalist and longtime antiwar activist, says that this silence is “by design”.

In his latest book, “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine,” Solomon lays bare the role of government and media in concealing the consequences of war & the utter mendacity & hypocrisy that underpins the blatant criminality of the US imperial war machine!

He breaks down how American politicians, alongside mainstream media, spin lies and hide the true cost of their wars.

Particularly persuasive are the Solomon’s illustrations of how media outlets have been coopted into producing what is essentially war propaganda and how journalists who seek to question the honesty of government officials are routinely silenced.

Solomon makes a striking comparison between the American media’s strong interest in the losses endured by Ukrainian civilians after the recent #Russian invasion of #Ukraine and its indifference to the fate of arguably millions of #Iraqi civilians after America’s invasion in 2003.

Among a series of great quotes featured in the podcast is the famous letter that writer & theologian Thomas Merton wrote to a friend of his as the #Vietnam War was gearing up in the 1960s.

Merton states, “The world is full of great criminals with enormous power, and they are in a death struggle with each other. It’s a huge gang battle of supremely well-armed and well-organized gangsters, using well-meaning lawyers and policemen and clergymen as their front, controlling papers, means of communication, and enrolling everybody in their armies. Let us avoid false optimism and approved gestures, and seek truth.”

https://theintercept.com/2023/08/11/deconstructed-podcast-norman-solomon-american-wars/

Iraq expels Sweden ambassador, embassy stormed over Quran burning

Protesters angered by burning of copies of the Quran in Sweden set fire to the Swedish embassy in the Iraqi capital.

The Iraqi prime minister also recalled his country’s charge d’affaires in Sweden, the government said on Thursday, and suspended the working permit of Swedish telecom company Ericsson on Iraqi soil, according to state media.

#terrorists #terrorism #iraqi

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/20/protesters-storm-swedish-embassy-in-baghdad-over-quran-burning

Iran Looking to Replace Dollar With Dinar in $10 Billion Trade With Iraq - Iran’s government considers employing the Iraqi dinar in bilateral trade with Iraq... - https://news.bitcoin.com/iran-looking-to-replace-dollar-with-dinar-in-10-billion-trade-with-iraq/ #internationaltrade #nationalcurrencies #chamberofcommerce #de-dollarization #bilateraltrade #foreigntrade #iranianrial #iraqidinar #u.s.dollar #iranian #dollar #dinar #iraqi #trade #news #iran #iraq #rial

New footage proving that the Iraqi army fired directly on the people of Makhmour(Maxmur)!
Footage of the moments when the #Iraqi army fired directly on Makhmour Camp refugees. A person falls to the ground with open fire!

#Iraqi #food is awesome!

An #Iraqi court sentenced to death a former policeman convicted of killing prominent academic Hisham al-Hashemi, whose murder in 2020 sparked condemnation in #Iraq and abroad

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/iraq-court-issues-death-sentence-to-former-policeman-for-killing-academic-hisham-alhashemi-101683456955146.html #press

RT @AlMajallaEN
A series of secret meetings took place between #Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and #Iraqi President Saddam Hussein throughout 1987.
For the first time ever, #AlMajalla is able to publish details of the inside story.
Written by @ibrahimhamidi. https://en.majalla.com/node/289426/documents-memoirs/saddam-al-assad-%E2%80%98no-handshakes%E2%80%99

RT @AlMajallaEN@twitter.com

A series of secret meetings took place between #Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and #Iraqi President Saddam Hussein throughout 1987.
For the first time ever, #AlMajalla is able to publish details of the inside story.
Written by @ibrahimhamidi@twitter.com. https://en.majalla.com/node/289426/documents-memoirs/saddam-al-assad-%E2%80%98no-handshakes%E2%80%99

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/AlMajallaEN/status/1647630966868054018

なんかすごいのが……（歴史の資料・史料として）
---
RT @AlMajallaEN
A series of secret meetings took place between #Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and #Iraqi President Saddam Hussein throughout 1987.
For the first time ever, #AlMajalla is able to publish details of the inside story.
Written by @ibrahimhamidi. https://en.majalla.com/node/289426/documents-memoirs/saddam-al-assad-%E2%80%98no-handshakes%E2%80%99
https://twitter.com/AlMajallaEN/status/1647630966868054018

なんかすごいのが……（歴史の資料・史料として）

RT @AlMajallaEN@twitter.com

A series of secret meetings took place between #Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and #Iraqi President Saddam Hussein throughout 1987.
For the first time ever, #AlMajalla is able to publish details of the inside story.
Written by @ibrahimhamidi@twitter.com. https://en.majalla.com/node/289426/documents-memoirs/saddam-al-assad-%E2%80%98no-handshakes%E2%80%99

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/AlMajallaEN/status/1647630966868054018

airport · blast · iraqi · kurdish · tension
https://papercliff.github.io/redirect/?q=airport+blast+iraqi+kurdish+tension
#breakingnews #iraqi #blast

What’s Erbil Like in 2023? Solo Tourism https://www.alojapan.com/770113/whats-erbil-like-in-2023-solo-tourism/

Is it still worth a visit?

##kurdistan #2022 #2023 #2024 #Advice #alone #asian #baghdad #basra #dangerous #do #English #european #facts #federal #Foreign #guide #guided #history #iconic #info #iraq #iraqi #iraqikurdistan #Kobe #Kobedestinations #kobetour #Kobetravel #Kobetrip #Kobevacation #kurd #man #safe #Safety #Sights #solo #tips #to #tour #tourist #travel #traveller #visit #Westerner #what #woman #women; #Your #神戸

I was an IDIOT too... THE GOD DAMNED #VMIC did its job - programmed a stupid backward-assed country -fuck from oklahoma and i ended up wasting a decade of my life .. i still carry the wounds of 3 million #Iraqi's as my karmic debt. https://youtu.be/RIWfH3iEgXU

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin.
No such warrant has ever been issued for Tony Blair. #Iraq #Iraq20YearsOn #IraqWar #Iraqi

20 years after brutal U.S. invasion, traumatic memories still haunt #Iraqi victims.

In the town of #Dhuluiyah, about 90 km north of the Iraqi capital #Baghdad, Sondos al-Lami still kept the bullet holes, in the kitchen floor, left by U.S. soldiers who had shot dead her husband in a morning almost 20 years ago.
https://xhnewsapi.xinhuaxmt.com/share/news?id=803309657874432&showType=3019&utdId=null&version=3.1.3&projectSource=0&clientMarket=huawei

Here's how the #Iraqi #people greeted the #British #army when they rolled into #Basra on the 21st of March, 2003.

Saddam Hussein's former #yacht is now an unlikely attraction | CNN https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/saddam-hussein-yacht-tourist-attraction/index.html

#iraqi #iraq #mideast #middleeast #boating #boats