the unbalanced evolution of homo sapiens

On June 15th, the State Department released a long-awaited “retrospective” volume of declassified U.S. government documents on the 1953 coup in Iran. The volume includes fascinating details on Iranian, American and British planning and implementation of the covert operation, as well as information about U.S. contacts with key figures such as Ayatollah Abol-Ghasem Kashani, and insights into U.S. concerns about the growing influence of communist Tudeh Party. This Foreign Relations volume focuses on the use of covert operations by the Truman and Eisenhower administrations as an adjunct to their respective policies toward Iran, culminating in the overthrow of the Mosadeq government in August 1953. Moreover, the volume documents the involvement of the U.S. intelligence community in the policy formulation process and places it within the broader Cold War context. [ nsarchive.gwu.edu ] globinfo freexchange The volume contains a significant amount of new information

Hundreds of men swept up in the hunt for al-Qaida militants have disappeared into a secret network of prisons in southern Yemen where abuse is routine and torture extreme — including the “grill,” in which the victim is tied to a spit like a roast and spun in a circle of fire, an Associated Press investigation has found. Senior American defense officials acknowledged Wednesday that U.S. forces have been involved in interrogations of detainees in Yemen but denied any participation in or knowledge of human rights abuses. Interrogating detainees who have been abused could violate international law, which prohibits complicity in torture. The AP documented at least 18 clandestine lockups across southern Yemen run by the United Arab Emirates or by Yemeni forces created and trained by the Gulf nation, drawing on accounts from former detainees, families of prisoners, civil rights lawyers and Yemeni military officials. All are either hidden or off limits to Yemen’s gover

A United Nations report has shed light on the world’s burgeoning crisis of displaced peoples, finding that a record 65.6 million were forced to vacate their homes in 2016 alone. More than half of them were minors. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which drafted the report, put the figure into perspective, stating that increasing conflict and persecution worldwide have led to “ one person being displaced every three seconds – less than the time it takes to read this sentence. ” UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi called the figure “ unacceptable ” and called for “ solidarity and a common purpose in preventing and resolving the crisis. ” However, what the UN report failed to mention was the role of U.S. foreign intervention, indirect or direct, in fomenting the conflicts responsible for producing most of the world’s refugees. According to the report, three of the nations producing the highest number of refugees are Syria (12

U.S. airstrikes in Somalia have killed over 400 people in the last eight years as part of a quiet war on “terrorism.” Parts of the country have been designated as “active war zones,” allowing for more strikes to take place with little to no oversight. by Roqayah Chamseddine Not long before Donald Trump took his presidential oath, the Obama administration was taking care of unfinished business in a part of the world that many Americans likely never think much about. In Somalia, a nation forced into a state of emergency thanks in part to an ongoing famine that is being fueled by a covert U.S. war on terrorism. Obama made some of his final foreign policy impressions by expanding the so-called war on terrorism there, even as he reached the final days of his last term in office. But it should be noted that the U.S.’ interest in Somalia has little to do with actually stopping terrorism and more to do with strengthening its grip on the country’s oil reserves.

Όχι πολύ καιρό πριν από τον προεδρικό όρκο του Ντόναλντ Τραμπ, η κυβέρνηση Ομπάμα φρόντιζε να εξασφαλίσει τη συνέχιση των επιχειρήσεων σε μια γωνιά του πλανήτη, η οποία ενδεχομένως να μην περνούσε ποτέ από το μυαλό των Αμερικανών. Πρόκειται για τη Σομαλία, ένα έθνος σε κατάσταση έκτακτης ανάγκης, εν μέρει λόγω του συνεχιζόμενου λιμού που πυροδοτείται από τον μυστικό πόλεμο των ΗΠΑ κατά της τρομοκρατίας. Ακόμα και επί των τελευταίων ημερών του στο Λευκό Οίκο, ο Ομπάμα συνέχισε να επεκτείνει τον αποκαλούμενο πόλεμο κατά της τρομοκρατίας στην περιοχή. Πρέπει όμως να σημειωθεί ότι το Αμερικανικό ενδιαφέρον για τη Σομαλία δεν έχει να κάνει στην πραγματικότητα με την πάταξη της τρομοκρατίας, αλλά με την προσπάθεια των ΗΠΑ να σφίξουν τον κλοιό γύρω από τα πετρελαϊκά αποθέματα της Σομαλίας. Στις αρχές της δεκαετίας του 90, οι Αμερικανικές πετρελαϊκές εταιρίες Conoco, Amoco, Chevron και Phillips "εισέβαλαν" στη Σομαλία για να εκμεταλλευτούν τους φυσικούς πόρο