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How Libya Is (And Is Not) Another Iraq

For the second time in less than a decade, the United States is engaged in military actions against a Middle Eastern country.  Since the passage of Resolution 1973 and the subsequent military actions, reported yesterday by Ken, a number of people have expressed uneasiness at the idea that Libya could “turn into another Iraq.” That’s understandable.  I don’t think anyone, except possibly Tony Blair, wants another Iraq.  But, this is a serious concern.  So, in a two part series, I’m going to consider how the situation in Libya is similar and different from the Iraq invasion and, finally, whether, notwithstanding current distinctions, Libya could become another Iraq.  Part I of the series will deal with how the situation in Libya is similar to Iraq.

How Libya Is Another Iraq

Libyan rebel waves the Libyan flag atop a destroyed government tank.

The Region- The most obvious similarity between Libya and Iraq is one of geography and religion- both countries are in the Middle East and have majority Arab Muslim populations.  It’s easy to dismiss this as glossing over a number of important differences, but I would caution against such an approach.  The fact is that it does matter to many people that the US and our Western allies seem selectively focused on the Middle East while ignoring human rights abuses and humanitarian crises in other parts of the world (Burma, for example).

This criticism is similar to that levied against the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s selective prosecutions of only African conflicts.  Skepticism on this issue can undermine how the world, and more importantly Arab populations, view the legitimacy of the UN and US actions and potentially re-raise a number of the neo-colonialism charges that so damaged America’s reputation from the handling of the Iraq invasion and subsequent occupation.

No Fly Zone Again– The US and her allies established and enforced two separate NFZs over Iraq from 1992 until the “conclusion” of the Iraq invasion in 2003 (once the US officially occupied Iraq under our “rebuilding” rationale, the NFZ was quickly lifted).  Like the Libyan NFZ, the Iraq NFZs were premised on humanitarian grounds, specifically to protect civilians, the Kurdish populations in the North and the Shiite Muslims in the South.

The Usual Suspects Advocating Military Force in the Middle East- Just as with Security Council Resolution 1441 (declaring Iraq to be in material breach of WMD disarmament and the pre-text for the US/UK unilateral invasion), Resolution 1973 was co-sponsored and heavily supported by the UK and US.  The Iraq NFZs were also jointly operated by the US and UK (with Turkish participation).  There are non-nefarious explanations for this, mainly the reality of which countries have the military resources to actually enforce anything the UN authorizes and whose support is therefore critical.

The recent history of the US and UK in Iraq is also the reason you may be hearing people refer to fears of “mission creep”- the steady expansion of a military mission beyond its original mandate and purpose.  Resolution 1973 is limited in its scope and mission and expressly bars any ground occupation.  But, Resolution 1441 expressly did not authorize invading Iraq, yet that didn’t prevent the US and UK from dishonestly using it for that purpose.  The UN, like any organization, is only as effective, disciplined and honest as the nation states that make up its membership.  For this reason, many view any US/UK advocacy for military involvement in the Middle East with a great deal of alarm and question the “real” motivations of these two countries’ constant warmongering positions.

Middle Eastern Countries’ Participation- The Arab League’s endorsement of the Libyan NFZ has been hailed as a remarkable step and a move that inoculates Western powers from neo-colonialism claims in attacking Libya.

The Arab League never endorsed, as a group, the Iraq NFZs or the Iraq invasion, but these events did have Middle Eastern nations’ participation.  Turkey officially participated in the Iraq NFZ enforcement, twice passing legislation extending Turkey’s military involvement.  And, while technically no Middle Eastern country was included in the “Coalition of the Willing,” Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar all allowed the US and UK military to launch the Iraq invasion from their countries and provided air and ground access into Iraq.   While Arab League members’ involvement in the NFZ is substantially greater (Qatar and UAE jets are involved in enforcement actions over Libya), their involvement, in itself, does not particularly distinguish Libya from Iraq.

Western Accountability Lacking Again– Saddam Hussein was prosecuted for crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Provisional government.  However, his conviction and death sentence was based solely on the murder of 148 Shiites following a failed assassination attempt in 1982.  Left out of the trials was any evidence related to crimes against humanity that were carried out with American provided weaponry and, in some cases, with US knowledge that the arms and weaponry would be used against civilian populations.  Documents declassified by the National Security Archive spell out US involvement in installing and arming Hussein and, as reported by the Washington Post, “Americans drafted many of the statutes under which Hussein and his associates [were] tried.”

The US and UK, like with Iraq, have provided Gaddafi with many of the arms his military is using in committing potential crimes against humanity.  Resolution 1970 gives the ICC jurisdiction to investigate these crimes, but is limited, some would say specifically to avoid US and UK accountability, to actions after February 15, 2011.

Will we one day say Libya intervention, 2011: Another Iraq?

For the reasons listed above and many others, many people watching the situation in Libya feel a creeping sense of déjà vu as these similarities revive unpleasant memories and serve as a powerful reminder that the noblest intentions (I’m being charitable here!) can lead to great, potentially irreparable harm.  With that in mind, the second and final installment in this series will focus on why the situation in Libya is not like Iraq, but also acknowledge how it could become, in the future, the next Iraq.

Read More

For an excellent interactive feature on the Iraq NFZs, see here.

For an overview of the Iraq NFZs enforcement, questionable legality and a list of US/UK military strikes in Iraq based on NFZ breaches, see here.

 

Utah does something crazy… for once

I know what you’re thinking. It’s Utah. What craziness could ever happen there? It’s totally not an insane mix of hillbilly death cult and fly-by-night Xango pyramid scheme zombies.

Well apparently they took a break from telling their third sister-wife to “STFU MARGENE OR YOU’RE GOING BACK TO THE “BAD” COMPOUND” and finally got around to some important state business:

(CNN) — Until this week, Utah had 24 state symbols, from tree (the blue spruce) to insect (the honeybee) to even cooking pot (the Dutch oven).

Now it’s added an official state firearm — the John M. Browning-designed M1911 pistol, becoming the first state in the nation to have one, according to the state legislator who sponsored the law.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed the new symbol into law this week.

Look out, Arizona. Utah just made you its BITCH. Apparently this initiative was the brainchild child of something called a “State Rep. Carl Wimmer, a Republican who was a police officer and SWAT team commander.”

“There was more controversy than I anticipated, but it really passed with bipartisan support,” Wimmer said. “One of the biggest comments from the critics was that we should not honor an implement of death. And my response to that has always been that this firearm does not represent an implement of death. It represents an implement of freedom.”

YEAH. Guns aren’t deadly weapons. They’re all about giving freedom. Such the freedom to defend America from your fourth sister-wife WHO JUST FUCKING CANNOT LEARN HOW TO WASH THE DISHES RIGHT AFTER DINNER.

Where’s my gun at?

(Hat Tip: Mr.Anansi)

Breaking News: French military jet opens fire in Libya (Updated: US Involvement)

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Since the passing of UN resolution 1973 which authorizes a No Fly Zone over Libya and authorizes “any military or preventative measures” to protect Libyan civilians and civilian areas “while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory” things have moved quite quickly. The first shots of the UN forces have been taken by French fight jets, opening fire on four Qaddafi tanks and other military vehicles. It is unclear as of now whether this will lead to a ground-force invasion in the upcoming days.

Al Jazeera is reporting witnesses as saying Qaddafi’s forces are trying to storm Benghazi from the coast and the south.

The BBC has video of a fighter jet being shot down over Benghazi which may or may not belong to Qaddafi forces and a BBC journalist in Benghazi says he has seen pro-Gaddafi tanks inside the city, presumably the ones that have been blasted by the French jets.

The BBC has excellent live coverage of the ongoing crisis.

Update 3:06pm: A US defence official tells Reuters that the US Navy has three submarines in the Mediterranean preparing for operations in Libya.

“Prime Minister David Cameron is currently with members of his cabinet in front of a video wall planning operations, our correspondent adds.” Damn, war is so futuristic now.

Update 3:18pm: The jet was a rebel jet. They shot their own jet down.

Update 3:49pm: The Guardian confirms that the rebel’s only fighter jet was shot down by Qaddafi forces.

Update 3:53pm: The BBC is reporting that the US has launched Tomahawk cruise missiles at targets inside Libya.

Update 4:01pm: Reuters quotes a senior US military official saying US, British, French, Italian and Canadian forces are to launch a strike along the Libyan coast.

Koch Sucker: How Greed is Eroding Democracy

The Koch brothers are some extremely wealthy brothers whom inherited all their money from their father, Freddy Koch. They control Koch Industries, America’s second biggest company (it also sounds like the company a super-villain would own). The Kochs’ are some of the most callous, indifferent kinds of capitalists that you can find on the planet earth. They founded a political advocacy group in 2004 to lobby their political causes, American’s for Prosperity. Since its formation AFP was a major supporter of Republican candidates in the 2010 election cycle and is heavily involved in political activities aimed at reducing regulation of the oil and gas industry. During the summer of 2008, AFP funded a radio ad critical of a North Carolina U.S. Senatorial challenger, Democrat Kay Hagan, for her position on taxes and offshore oil drilling. During the 2010 election cycle, Americans for Prosperity claims to have spent $40 million dollars on rallies, phone banks, and canvassing, mostly for Republican candidates.

The Koch family has also donated vast sums of money to various other political think-tanks and institutions including  the Cato Institute, the Federalist Society, the Mercatus Center, the Institute for Humane Studies, the Institute for Justice, the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, the Institute for Energy Research, the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment, Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, the George C. Marshall Institute, the Reason Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. The Kochs’ are, of course, extremely “pro-business” and significant supporters of “free-markets.” In June 2010 they held a large seminar entitled “Understanding and Addressing Threats to American Free Enterprise and Prosperity”. The invitation stated that “[our] prosperity is under attack by the current Administration and many of our elected officials” and “we cannot rely on politicians to [defend our free society], so it is up to us to combat what is now the greatest assault on American freedom and prosperity in our lifetimes”.

It becomes clear in the picture painted of the Koch family that they are simply industrial-capitalists with little or no concern for the welfare of, not even the most vulnerable and impoverished people, but all people who aren’t obscenely wealthy. Nothing is more indicative of this than the Kochs’ involvement with Scott Walker and his crusade to disenfranchise labour. Walker’s capitulation to Koch Industries was thrown into embarrassing relief when the satirical website, Buffalo Beast, successively had a prank caller call Walker and convince him that he was David Koch. The phone rings. The line is transferred to Walker’s office.

“Scott! David Koch. How are you?”

“Hey, David! I’m good. And yourself?”

Walker is super excited to hear from David Koch and proceeds to give him a detailed run-down of what’s going on, including some petty scheming to lock Democrats pay checks in their desk drawers. Walker mentions that Democrat Tim Cullens had often voted with him on pieces of legislation and “Koch” replies that he was going to give Cullens a call. However, Walker isn’t too sure this is a good idea because Cullens isn’t “one of us.”

What are we to take from that little turn of phrase, “one of us?” It’s a question of who Scott Walker thinks he is and who he is in office to represent. Enlightenment philosophy will tell us that the State raises humanity out of that horrible state of nature, of perpetual war. That the people of the state invest their personal sovereignty into a representative body and through their representative the people are present at the seat of government. But is it not more accurate to say that States only formalize this so-called “natural” warfare? Is it not more truthful to say that the war of person upon person isn’t natural at all but only comes into being through the Enlightenment ideology of Liberty, an ideology that pits everyone against everyone else in an eternal pursuit of liberty? The only difference is that his state of natural war can now be quantified, measured in precise dollar amounts, in the precise amount of the “have” and the “have-not.” To have is a right but to have is also to war because resources are finite.

This kind of attitude obviously doesn’t Jive with the free-market, corporate outlook on life which advocates the right to unrestrained acquisition of wealth. What is becoming increasingly obvious now is that politicians, by and large, only have their own self-interests at heart as well. When Walker quips that Cullens isn’t “one of us” he really means that Cullens doesn’t subscribe to the notion of perpetual warfare being waged on the have-nots by the haves and this is class warfare, let us make no mistake about it. Why else would it be necessary for corporate interests to spend so much money on politicking? It can only be because the logic of their politics is transparently “anti-person” in its “pro-business” stance.

Koch: You’re the first domino.

Walker: Yep. This is our moment.

What is most disturbing about the recorded conversation between Scott Walker and the fake David Koch is the way in which they know it is war. This is a coordinated effort to erode the ability of a majority to feed themselves, clothe themselves and house themselves and their families. It is a coordinated effort to disenfranchise labor, to steal the voice of people who actually work for a living. The end goal can only be to render the have-nots immobile, to trap them in a power relationship which exploits their needs for the very necessities of life. It is no longer about the working poor, or the lower classes; it is no longer about the “middle class” or the “upper-middle class,” it is about a desire to drive as many people into “have-not” status in order to become the fullest “haves” they can be. Fools like Walker think that he too can become part of the “have” club but the very logic of having implies that wealth will always be directed toward an increasingly smaller and smaller amount of hands at the exclusion of everyone else. Soon even the governorship will only pay minimum wage. The pro-business, neo-liberal agenda is hard at work all over the world so this is a concern to people of all nations, religions or whatever other affiliation you choose. Ultimately, democracy can only be rejuvenated if we demand that our politicians end their rampant collusion with corporate interests.

Buffalo Beast – Buffalo News – Koch Family – Body Politic Image – Hobbes Image

Your Thoughts Wanted: Sen. Evan Bayh, Glenn Beck and FOX News

Yesterday it was announced that former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) was joining Fox News as a “political commentator and analyst.”  My initial reaction to this news was to frown and shake my head.  I am, to say the least, not a fan of Fox News.  For the record, I am also not a fan of MSNBC.  But, I’ll get to that in a moment.  I don’t watch Fox News, so this isn’t a criticism of their news coverage or political commentary.  My objection to Fox can really be summed up in two words: Glenn Beck. My problems with this hatemonger are manifold, but I’ll just mention one.  As a Jew, and, ahem, specifically a Reform Jew, I strongly object to Mr. Beck being given a national, mainstream platform to spew his barely cloaked Elders of Zion Jewish world control conspiracy theories.

Because “ratings matters,” I would prefer that my fellow Americans choose to express their disapproval of Mr. Beck by not watching Fox News so long as he is on the network.  By joining Fox, Sen. Bayh, a centrist well-spoken and intelligent man, is not helping in this cause.   This is particularly disappointing to me given the Senator’s involvement in No Labels, an organization founded by a bipartisan group of current and former elected officials, including Independent Mayor Bloomberg, former Republican Congressman Scarborough and former Sen. Bayh, who are “frustrated and concerned about the tone of politics” and believe “hyper-partisanship is destroying our politics and paralyzing our ability to govern.”  Hmmm.

In thinking about this yesterday, I tried to understand how sharing a network with Mr. Beck furthers the goals of No Labels.  When the Bayh news broke, my Facebook page exploded with comments- many echoing this sentiment.  However, there were opposing views. Here is a comment from a friend and political activist:  “But even No Labels has to have a conduit for promoting its message. Mass media is media for the masses, and influencing those masses is how we change the system.”

Ok.  This is a valid point and it got me thinking.  Now, let me move at this point, to why I dislike MSNBC, because it’s relevant here.  First, I find MSNBC and Fox much too partisan and slanted in their reporting to be a news source for my tastes.  I hate surprises.  I’d prefer to have all the facts, mitigating and otherwise, on an issue before I start forwarding around while jumping on my high horse about it.  But, the bigger issue I have with MSNBC is their role in mainstreaming and rehabilitating the noxious racist, Pat Buchanan.

For those used to seeing Pat joshing around with our favorite liberal lesbian, Rachel Maddow, here’s just a sampling of Mr. Buchanan’s less adorable beliefs in his own words:

After Sen. Carol Moseley Braun blocked a federal patent for a Confederate flag insignia, Buchanan wrote that she was “putting on an act” by associating the Confederacy with slavery: “The War Between the States was about independence, about self-determination, about the right of a people to break free of a government to which they could no longer give allegiance.”

On race relations in the late 1940s and early 1950s: “There were no politics to polarize us then, to magnify every slight. The ‘negroes’ of Washington had their public schools, restaurants, bars, movie houses, playgrounds and churches; and we had ours.

But, as I thought about my friend’s comment, it occurred to me that Mr. Buchanan does not say these things on MSNBC and doesn’t seem to say them much anymore at all.  Hmmm again.  So, now I’m asking myself: should Mr. Buchanan be shunned for his past horrid behavior or is it better that because of his appearances on MSNBC he seems to actually have moderated his statements, if not his beliefs?  Is it better that, even if he secretly still believes them, he doesn’t say them anymore?

All of which brings me back to Senator Bayh, Glenn Beck and Fox News.  So, now I’m conflicted and not sure where I stand.  Is it possible that, simply by having individuals of Mr. Bayh’s caliber, Fox News may move away from commentators like Glenn Beck?  Is it possible that Sen. Bayh’s participation may temper Mr. Beck’s more unacceptable statements, at least on his Fox News show?  Is it better to take a principled stand against Beck and Fox News or to engage to try to change them?

Hmmm for a third time.  What do you think?

Read More:

Evan Bayh joining Fox News

Glenn Beck’s “monstrous” Soros accusations rile Holocaust survivors, Jewish groups

Southern Poverty Law Center Report, The Second Wave: Return of the Militias, documenting Fox News and Glenn Beck’s race-based conspiracy theories

No Labels

Pat Buchanan in his own words

Senator Bayh on the issues

 

5 Onion Articles That Predicted The Future

If you’re between the ages of 15 and 35, you’ve read The Onion.  Who doesn’t love that satirical newspaper with its fake stories that sound like they could be true.  Well, most of them aren’t true.  Some of them come true later, mostly in eerily specific ways.  Here are 5 Onion articles that make you wonder about their psychic abilities.

5.  The RIAA Goes Rabid

The Onion story: RIAA Sues Radio Stations For Giving Away Free Music

The real story: RIAA Demands Radio Stations Pay For Song Use

It’s a little too easy to make fun of the RIAA.  They’re like the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  Even though they’re basically just quadriplegic stumps on the ground, they still expect you to surrender.  Here The Onion joked that the RIAA turns on its bigger provider of free advertising: AM/FM radio.  5 years later, the RIAA is calling radio a “form of piracy” and they must be paid per play.

How they predicted it: The RIAA has become so comically desperate that any joke will eventually come true.

How reality tops The Onion: The RIAA is lobbying to make it mandatory to put FM radios in all portable electronics. So not only do they love the radio now, they want it in all cell phones and iPods.  Tis but a flesh wound indeed.

 

4.  Gillette Makes An Absurd Razor

The Onion story: Gillette Makes A Razor With 5 Blades

The real story: Gillette Makes A Razor With 5 Blades

This one was done in The Onion’s Op-Ed style, where a manic and overly macho CEO talks about adding yet another razor to their already ridiculous 4-blade model.  4 blades were already kind of a joke; unless you have a beard made of twine, 3 did the job quite well.  Now it just seems like they have something to prove.

How they predicted it: In a corporate culture that demands constant innovation, what the hell is a company going to do when it makes a product that has existed since ancient Egypt? The answer is more blades.  One day they’ll make one with 6 blades.

How reality tops The Onion: They’re making one with 6 blades.

 

3.  Joe The Plumber

The Onion Story: Uneducated Forklift Driver To Address The Nation On Rush Limbaugh Show

The real story: Republicans Turn To Unqualified Schmuck For Insight

Oh what a funny joke, Rush Limbaugh gives a platform for a regular ol’ blue collar guy to spout off about the intricacies of foreign policy and economics.  Funny, funny, funny.  Until 2008 rolls around and John McCain decides to give 15 minutes of fame to a guy named Joe The Plumber, who is neither named Joe nor is a licensed plumber.  This one gets major points for being the most ahead of its time: predicted 15 years before it happened.  Also, both the real and fictional men are from Ohio.

How they predicted it: The Republican party has had a love affair with the lowest common denominator for a few decades.  If I had a nickel for every time they bashed Obama for going to Harvard, I’d qualify for their tax breaks (bazing!)  The Onion just followed this to it’s logical conclusion: asking the most clueless guy you can find about the most complicated things.

How reality tops The Onion: McCain also got a shill named Tito The Builder, who was supposed to appeal to Hispanics.  He was also blue collar, but he was an immigrant, and inexplicably loved Sarah Palin.

 

2.  The Media Loves Charlie Sheen

The Onion story: Charming Hollywood Bad Boy Slays Seven

The real story: Popular Hollywood Bad Boy Beats Women (I’m not even linking it.)

In The Onion article, an actor known for his off-screen problems brutally kills 7 people for no reason.  The article reports it like any Hollywood shenanigans, with lots of references to the characters he’s played, and a brief history of his numerous other crimes spanning multiple decades.  The actor shows absolutely no remorse and promises to do it again, calling himself “an unstoppable murder machine.”  Charlie Sheen shot his fiance in the arm in 1994 and since has never met a woman who didn’t take out a restraining order.  He has often referred to himself as a warlock with a 10,000-year-old brain.  Here he is being called a paragon of masculinity without a trace of irony.

How they predicted it: Hollywood is famous for not really caring what money-making actors do, so long as they show up for work.  As long as someone keeps on smiling, the entertainment press will chuckle knowingly at even the most heinous crimes.

How reality tops The Onion: It hasn’t yet, but it will.

 

1.  Everything Bush Did

The Onion story: Bush Announces “Our Long Nation Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over

The real story: Identical.

I’ll just let quotes from the article, written in January of 2001, do they talking.

“Bush swore to do “everything in [his] power” to undo the damage wrought by Clinton’s two terms in office, including selling off the national parks to developers, going into massive debt to develop expensive and impractical weapons technologies, and passing sweeping budget cuts that drive the mentally ill out of hospitals and onto the street.”

“Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years.”

“On the economic side, Bush vowed to bring back economic stagnation by implementing substantial tax cuts, which would lead to a recession, which would necessitate a tax hike, which would lead to a drop in consumer spending, which would lead to layoffs, which would deepen the recession even further.”

“‘We as a people must stand united, banding together to tear this nation in two,’ Bush said. ‘Much work lies ahead of us: The gap between the rich and the poor may be wide, be there’s much more widening left to do. We must squander our nation’s hard-won budget surplus on tax breaks for the wealthiest 15 percent. And, on the foreign front, we must find an enemy and defeat it.'”

How they predicted it: Bush promised to do all these things many, many times before being elected.

How reality tops The Onion: He also let New Orleans drown.

Exclusive: Congressman André Carson Responds to the King Hearings

Crasstalk recently covered Congressman Peter King’s double standard on extremism and the betrayal of  his Muslim constituents. Today, I am pleased to offer you a counter-point from House Representative André Carson (D-IN), Representative King’s peer in the Legislative branch, a former law enforcement officer, and an American Muslim.

Congressman André Carson (D-IN)Congressman Carson represents Indiana’s 7th Congressional District; he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in early 2008 as part of a special election, voted in to his first full term in Congress in November of 2008, and was reelected again in 2010.  Before his career as an elected official, Carson devoted himself to law enforcement and protecting Hoosiers across the state. He first served as a Local Board Investigative Officer for the Indiana State Excise Police for nine years covering 22 counties before being detailed to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security’s Intelligence Fusion Center in 2006 where he worked in an anti-terrorism unit to protect Indiana and the United States from terrorist threats at home and abroad.

Congressman André Carson graciously shared the following perspectives with us:

Representative King claims that American Muslims and Muslims in general do not speak out against Islamic extremism. Do you agree with this statement?

Since 9/11, seven out of the last ten Al-Qaeda plots threatening the U.S. were prevented by Muslim cooperation.  L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca testified he was overwhelmed by the number of Muslims who were ready to assist him in response to his outreach. That is just one of many examples, and the call into question whether Representative King is ill-informed.

Until Representative King has reviewed the statements of thousands of American Muslim organizations nationwide who have denounced every act of violence perpetrated by a person who claims to be Muslim, any generalization he makes regarding whether Muslims do enough to “speak out” against extremism is selectively anecdotal, outcome-driven, and patently unfair.

He also stated that the hearings are aimed at protecting Muslims from being pressured to commit terrorist acts. Do you have concerns about these hearings and do you think that they will accomplish what Rep. King claims?

I fear these hearings will exacerbate suspicion of Muslims in our country.  Simply by making Muslims the sole focal point and phrasing the inquiry in terms of whether Muslims “cooperate enough,” Chairman King invites non-Muslims to put all of their American Muslim neighbors under a microscope.

There are extremists who pervert Islam to serve violent ends, and they must be deterred, but violence caused by ideological extremism is a threat in all its forms, regardless of the religion or ideology in which it is rooted.  Unfortunately, for too many Americans, terrorism has a Muslim face, and I believe it is causing many, including Chairman King, to ignore other homegrown threats.  We should never ignore or downplay ANY form of violent extremism.  But we also should not be focusing our attention on a single form of extremism while so many others continue to put the American people at risk.

How do you think that the Muslim American community should respond to these hearings?

The Muslim community is broad and diverse with no single organization speaking for all Muslims. But we need to make our voices heard and show we are proud and an important part of America. Muslims Americans are doctors, lawyers, teachers, scientists, and police officers. Muslims want their families to be safe, just like every other American.

What kind of impact does rhetoric like King’s have on the Muslim community as a whole? Is it ignored or directly addressed in community outreach initiatives?

It is dispiriting.  To peace-loving, patriotic American Muslims, it serves as a reminder that no matter how many millions fully embrace our country, and no matter how deep their civic commitment, the acts of a misguided handful who pervert the faith creates a tragic guilt-by-association mentality at the highest levels of government.   Cooperation of the Muslim community around the world will play a critical role in our effort to prevent future attacks.  But this cooperation will never be possible if we further alienate and disparage the Muslim community in our own country.

As a country with constitutionally protected religious freedom, we risk extremism in every religion. Is this liberty worth the risk?

Absolutely.  The very first words of our very first amendment give all Americans the right to practice our faith without government persecution.  By targeting American Muslims, these hearings  run contrary to centuries of upholding religious freedom in the U.S. and further contradicts the proud American history many Muslim families can trace back for generations.  This hearing would be just as wrong if they were focusing on any other religious group.  It hearkens back to the era of Senator Joseph McCarthy, when similar witch hunts pitted neighbor against neighbor while failing to improve our national security and distracting Americans from more pressing issues confronting the nation.

As a former law enforcement officer, how important is it to factor racial or religious components into an investigation? Does profiling based on these factors make us more or less safe from terrorism?

During my time in law enforcement, I worked with informants and cooperating witnesses from all backgrounds on a wide variety of cases, and one reality held true: those who trusted law enforcement, the judicial system, and the government provided more useful information in a timely manner than those who felt singled out or targeted.  Security is based on trust. When leadership does not have the trust of a community, regardless of religion or race, it’s extremely difficult to maintain security.

____________________________________________________________________________________

H/T: Grand Inquisitor, ihatediamonds, Kenneth Gibson, and a special thanks to Lady_E for putting me in touch with Congressman Carson.

Header Photograph: Flickr.

8.9 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Northern Japan- UPDATED 1:30pm EST SAT

An 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit  373 kilometers off the coast of Northern Japan at 2:46pm today. Quake triggered a 13 ft. tsunami, sweeping massive amounts of debri inland. As of 5:50am EST 32 are dead in Japan.

This quake was the fifth largest earthquake ever recorded. The strongest ever in Japan. Quake has been followed so far by 19 aftershocks, all at least a 6.0 magnitude.

Authorities in 20 countries haves issued a tsunami watch, including Hawaii and the entire west coast of North America, including Washington, Oregon, California and Mexico. Residents who live in coastal areas of these states should be alert and prepared to evacuate. For Alaska the watch has been downgraded to a warning.

The USGS has instructed residents of all coastal areas on the west coast of the United States to stay out of the ocean and away from the beaches. Residents of Hawaii are urged to seek higher ground for the entire duration tsunami, which will come in several waves.

Officials in the Philippines, where the tsunami is expected to hit first, have ordered evacuation of 19 coastal provinces.

This quake was the latest in a systemically active week in the region. Wednesday a 7.2 quake struck off the course of Honshu followed by a 6.3 quake Thursday in roughly the same area.

According to Japanese authorities, as of 6:00am EST, Japan’s nuclear power plants remain undamaged.

UPDATE 10:00am EST:

Death toll has been raised to between 200-300 bodies in and around Sendai, the epicenter of the quake.

Japanese authorities have ordered the precautionary evacuation of residents who live around the nuclear plant effected by the quake as technicians are having trouble cooling the reactor. Despite this the U.N. nuclear oversight agency has said that all plants have shut successfully shut down.

Thousands remain stranded in cities, especially Tokyo, as all trains have shut down. Tokyo has remained largely unscathed.

30 aftershocks have followed since the main quake, the strongest measuring 7.1.

Japan has reached out to the U.S. for assistance. The U.S. Navy is already positioning ships in the area to be of assistance to the Japanese people.

There are no reports of mass panic or lawlessness in the wake of the disaster. Way to be Japan.

UPDATE 2:30pm EST:

There has been no official update about the death toll. But the tsunami is probably responsible for more deaths and injuries than the quake itself. There are reportedly more than 500 injured and over 351 missing. Rescue workers are currently searching for 80 dock workers that were swept out sea.

An oil refinery that exploded continues to burn in Fukushima Prefecture. Also in Fukushima Prefecture, a small leak could occur in a nuclear plant and a dam failed and washed away about 1,800 homes.

U.S. Air Craft Carrier group Ronald Reagan is moving into position to provide aid and help with reconnaissance missions that are already underway to help the Japanese government map the disaster zone. The U.S. has also sent two search and rescue teams from the Agency on International Development to provide aid. Link

A nuclear emergency has been issued for the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant as it is not currently cooling.  The US is flying in additional coolant.  News.com CNN.

“A second nuclear power plant may be overheating.” CNN

California counties Del Norte, Humboldt, San Mateo and Santa Cruz are under a state of emergency.  CNN Damage was reportedin Santa Cruz county earlier today.  NBC Bay Area

“ Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa ordered the evacuation of the Galapagos Islands and of cities along the country’s coast Friday.” CNN

Update March 12:

From Kyodo News:

“Four people have been injured in an explosion that occurred at the No. 1 reactor of the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Saturday.

The explosion was heard at 3:36 p.m. following large tremors and white smoke was seen at the facility in Fukushima Prefecture, the company said.

The four workers were working to deal with problems caused by a powerful earthquake that hit northeastern Japan on Friday.”

Update Saturday 1:30 PM EST

CNN is reporting that 900 people have been confirmed dead thus far, but that the number is expected to rise into the thousands. Over 9500 hundred people are unaccounted for in the town of Minamisanriku alone. Rescuers have pulled more that 3000 from the rubble since the quake.

The New York Times is reporting that evacuations continue in the communities affected by radiation releases from two malfunctioning nuclear power plants. In a chilling development, officials are distributing iodine (which is used to minimize thyroid damage in the event of radiation exposure) to people in the surrounding areas. The management of the evacuation is also severely overtaxing resources already needed for search and rescue efforts.

Source and Photo Credit: NPR

Infinite Mourning: How Personal Grudges Become Congressional Hearings

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As Peter King looked out over the circus he had convened yesterday he only had one thing on his mind: revenge. And this time it was personal.

“It was personal, he says, for everyone in his Long Island district, which was home to dozens of the police, firefighters and financial workers who died at the World Trade Center.” It was time for him to finally have revenge upon those that had so cruelly turned their shoulders on him all those years ago.

You see, King knows that Muslims are more likely to engage in terrorist activities because, well, they’re Muslim and the Islamic faith is inherently violent. Wait. That sounds an awful lot like racism and gross generalization. Nevertheless, King, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee has seen it first hand; that’s right King has seen Muslim-Americans being Muslims, right here in America. King has actually spent a lot of time with the Muslim-American community so he should definitely know what they’re all about. King insists that “radicalization” (I think this means they’ve started skateboarding and listening to Suicidal Tendencies) in fucking rampant in Muslim-American communities, so much so that it’s necessary to hold hearings about it. Obviously these hearings are complete bullshit and really serve to either 1) ease the paranoia of King and similarly minded political friends or 2) maintain the discourse of scary Muslim terrorists maybe working at your local deli, plotting to put a stick of dynamite in your corn beef and rye. Actually, it’s probably a bit of both, wouldn’t you say? And to think King accused his detractors of being hysterical.

You see, King’s hearings smack all too much of political pandering. Back in January people gathered at the Long Island Islamic Center to discuss the upcoming hearings and what could be done to stop them. However, for this mosque the issue was particularly upsetting. “He used to come to our weddings. He ate dinner in our homes,” the mosque’s chairman, Habeeb Ahmed, said of King, the man whom is supposed to represent them in congress. No member of the Islamic Center in Long Island has ever been accused of terrorism and King has had long ties with the community; yet King has now turned on people he once considered friends, calling the Long Island Islamic Center a “hotbed” of radical Islam and accusing its leaders of being Islamic extremists.

It’s hard to guess what King’s motivation for conducting these hearings is (one can assume they’re partly political, King sees the way the country is swinging and wants to be able to say he was on the front-lines against radical Islam, in a district that’s 90% white alienating a religious minority might actually improve you electoral standings), although he had this to say yesterday as he opened the hearings: “Al-Qaeda is actively targeting the American Muslim community for recruitment. Today’s hearing will address this dangerous trend.”  King has also maintained time and time again that Muslim communities are not doing enough to stop radicalization within their communities. This is ostensibly the real reason for the hearings being held: King believes that not only must all Muslims be held accountable for the acts of fringe groups that represent an extremely small portion of the actual Muslim population but that they must meet his standards of what constitutes appropriate measures to prevent terrorist acts from happening.

King’s split with his Muslim constituents began immediately after 9/11; when King first became congressman he would deliver speeches at the Islamic Center often and held book signings in the prayer hall. He took in Muslim interns and was one of the few Republicans who supported U.S. intervention in the 1990s to help Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo. In return King had received generous outpourings of support from the Muslim community in his district, including significant financial contributions. In the days following 9/11 Americans were confused and bewildered; no one knew what to believe or discredit as false and there was vast amounts of conspiracy theories and conjecture being thrown around. It was in the climate of confusion that one of the Islamic Center’s directors, Ghazi Khankan, made this comment:

“Who really benefits from such a horrible tragedy that is blamed on Muslims

and Arabs? Definitely Muslims and Arabs do not benefit. It must be the enemy

of  Muslims and Arabs. An independent investigation must take place.”

This seems like a perfectly reasonable statement to have made at the time and was probably in response to a direct question regarding who could possibly benefit from committing such an atrocity. Personally, if my religion (I don’t have one, but if I did) was being blamed left and right my first reaction would probably also be one of denial; who wants to think their religious brethren could be capable of such a thing? However, the failure to immediately react without thinking whatsoever infuriated King who claimed they were turning their back on America at its time of greatest need, “they were trying to look the other way while friends of mine were being murdered.” So it would seem that these hearings are the culmination of the grudge and resentment that King began to hold deep within his soul when his friends failed to rabidly demand vengeance for the death of 3000 Americans. He was upset that they didn’t mourn as hard as he did, didn’t want to exact vengeance on the perpetrators with every fiber of their being as King did.

“You have to understand the confusion and shock at the time,” continued Khankan, “tapes of Osama bin Laden had just been released in which he praised but was not yet openly taking responsibility for the attacks. Many at the mosque still remembered that Muslims had been immediately and falsely blamed for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.” See, the unfortunate truth is that not every American does feel as strongly about 9/11 as others might. America has an enormous and diverse population with a regrettable history of systemic discrimination against racial and religious minorities. I’m sure most Muslims fervently denounce the 9/11 attacks (King actually claimed yesterday during the hearings that 15% of American Muslims believe suicide bombings are justified, which in itself is a completely negligible percentage but a bit of digging reveals that the poll he was referring to states this:  It is 12% with 5% saying it is “rarely justified,” 7% saying “sometimes,” and 1% saying it is “justified.” This adds up to 13 percent) but can we blame them for not all rallying around the flag as America geared up to launch a war into the heart of their religious community? Can we blame Muslims for being wary of rabid, nationalist Islamophobia given the deep history of suspicion that Khankan’s above quotation speaks to?

“My district, I think it is a good barometer. Nobody in my district didn’t know somebody who was killed on Sept. 11. It is still very personal.” Look, Mr. King, I’m sorry your friends died.

I’m sorry that you were upset by your friends too, Mr. King, I really am. I’m sorry that their denouncement of 9/11 (which the Islamic Center did time and again as more information came to light) was not passionate enough or American enough for you. I’m sorry but you should be ashamed of yourself. You are a grown man and because you cannot control your emotions you have brought an invasive and arbitrary interrogation to bear on your own constituents from the very highest level of government. These are people that supported you, they gave you money, they fucking elected you to be their congressional representative and you’ve now sold them down the river for cheap political gain. You’re personal grudges shouldn’t be resolved through the congressional harassment of an entire religious group, Mr. King.

house.gov, MSNBC, WaPo image via Guardian