military resistance 10e5: blackmail

7/31/2019 Military Resistance 10E5: Blackmail

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Military Resistance 10E5

U.S. Marine Corps Veteran, A U.S.Citizen, Blackmailed By FBI:

He Was Offered A Deal: If He HelpedThe FBI As An Informant, His Name

Would Be Removed From The No-FlyList

May 10, 2012 By JOEL MILLMAN, Wall Street Journal [Excerpts]

PORTLAND, Ore.A case challenging the use of the federal government's "no-fly"list, set to be heard here Friday, will raise the larger issue of whether Muslims aresingled out for harassment by authorities.

A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union alleges that members of the U.S.Muslim community were put on the no-fly list of potential security risks without a means


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to correct their status, depriving them of freedom to travel. The 15 plaintiffs also allegethat current federal rules deprive them of means to get off the list.

One of the plaintiffs is the imam of Portland's largest and oldest mosque, the Masjed As-Saber Islamic Center.

"The system is so opaque, they give no information to people denied boarding," saidNusrat Jahan Choudhury, the ACLU attorney arguing for the plaintiffs. Ms. Choudhurysaid two plaintiffs were asked by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to serve asinformants in exchange for removal from the no-fly list.

The Portland case alleges similar instances where American Muslims learn they havebeen put on the no-fly list, which has seen its numbers roughly double since the so-called underwear bomber was apprehended in 2009. It also is the latest skirmish in twoyears of litigation that the ACLU has launched arguing that no-fly measures have beenabused.

In the case being argued in Portland on Friday, all 15 plaintiffs said that, beginning in

2010, they learned they had been barred from air travel as "too dangerous to fly, but tooharmless to arrest," according to the ACLU's complaint.

In March 2010, for instance, the mosque's imam, Sheikh Mohamed Abdirahman Kariye,a U.S. citizen, booked a Delta Air Lines flight from Portland to Amsterdam, en route toDubai, according to the complaint. Though he said he had made a similar trip withoutincident in October 2009, a Delta employee told the cleric at the airport that he was on agovernment list.

Mr. Kariye said two Portland police officers and a U.S. Marshal escorted him from theticket counter, but they wouldn't explain why he had been added to the no-fly list. Hesaid he filed an official complaint with the Department of Homeland Security.

More than two years later, Mr. Kariye doesn't know how he got on the list, the evidenceagainst him, or know how to persuade federal authorities to remove his name, accordingto the complaint.

Mr. Kariye said he wasn't asked to become an informant, but others who are plaintiffs inthe suit said they were.

In April 2010, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Ibraheim Mashal tried to board a flightfrom Chicago to Spokane, Wash., when the then-30-year-old son of a Palestinianimmigrant learned he was on the no-fly list, he said in the complaint.

Two federal agents who asked to question him identified themselves as from theFBI, he said.

Nearly two months later, Mr. Mashal, also a U.S. citizen, said he met with theagents at a suburban Chicago hotel. There, Mr. Mashal said, he was offered adeal: If he helped the FBI as an informant, his name would be removed from theno-fly list. He said he declined and subsequently joined the ACLU complaint.


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Another plaintiff, Nagib Al Ghaleb of Oakland, Calif., learned he was on the no-fly list inFebruary 2010, in Frankfurt, Germany, during a stopover on his return flight fromYemen, according to the ACLU complaint. He said in the complaint that an FBI officerlater told him he would be taken off the no-fly list if he would agree to become aninformant "in the California Yemeni community."

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

U.S. Soldier Killed, 2 More Injured ByAfghan Soldier

May 12, 2012 By DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

An attacker wearing an Afghan National Army uniform shot dead a U.S. soldier andwounded to more in the countrys east.

Foreign Occupation ServicememberKilled Somewhere Or Other In

Afghanistan Friday:

Nationality Not AnnouncedMay 11, 2012 AP

A foreign servicemember died following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistantoday.

Foreign Occupation ServicememberKilled Somewhere Or Other In

Afghanistan Saturday:Nationality Not Announced

May 12, 2012 AP

A foreign servicemember died following an improvised explosive device attack insouthern Afghanistan today.


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Simi Green Beret To Be Buried AtArlington National Cemetery

Staff Sgt. Andrew Britton-Mihalo

May 3, 2012 By Rachel McGrath, Ventura County Star

Staff Sgt. Andrew Britton-Mihalo, who was killed last week in Afghanistan, will be buriedMay 25 at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

The Green Beret from Simi Valley was fatally shot by an Afghan soldier he wasmentoring at an Army base in Kandahar on April 25. Britton-Mihalo's translatoralso died in the attack.

Both men were hit by machine gun fire, and the Afghan soldier was killed immediately,The Associated Press reported.

Three other U.S. soldiers were wounded.

Britton-Mihalo, 25, who was assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces(Airborne), is survived by his wife, Sgt. Jesse Britton.

They were married in December and based out of Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

"He was an outstanding human being," Lt. Col. James Brownlee, public affairs officer forthe 7th Special Forces, told the Northwest Florida Daily News. "A great American hasdied for the cause."

According to a posting by Britton on a Facebook page set up in her husband's memory,there will be a viewing from 4 to 6 p.m. May 24 at the Murphy Funeral Home in Arlington,Va. The Arlington National Ceremony website shows funeral services for Britton-Mihaloare set for 11 a.m. the next day. A memorial service might take place in Simi Valley at alater date, friends have said.


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Britton-Mihalo also is survived by his mother and stepfather, Lorena and Bill Mihalo, andhis three sisters: Georgeana Britton Williams, of Bakersfield; Tanya Britton Adams, ofMissouri; and Michelle Britton Carranza, of Simi Valley.

Britton-Mihalo was a graduate of Royal High School, where he was on the wrestlingteam that won the CIF Championship, a first for the school. He enlisted after graduation

in 2005.

During his senior year, Britton-Mihalo lived with the Mathias family after his mother andstepfather moved out of state.

Travis Mathias, 24, who described his friend as "like a brother," is raising money forBritton to help with items such as plane tickets, travel costs and other expenses.

"We ordered some silicon wristbands, and they have Andrew's name on them, and onthe back it says, 'brother, son, hero,' " he said. "We've been selling them for about $5each, and we'll send the money to Jesse."

Mathias said wristbands are available by emailing him at [email protected].

Another fundraising effort is being led by Paul Mol, a history teacher who was headwrestling coach at Royal from 1998 to 2005.

"We're raising money for his widow," he said. "They were only married a few months,and we're doing it basically to give her a cushion to transition from his death to the restof her life."

Mol, who now lives in Colorado, said people can donate online using a PayPal accountor a credit card at the website http://andrewbrittonmihalo.chipin.com/andrew-britton-mahalo-fallen-soldier.

Mol said he plans to attend Britton-Mihalo's funeral.

"He was a very special student athlete, very dedicated, very polite, very humble," Molsaid. "That type of person deserves our respect, and I am going to give it to him by goingout there to say goodbye."

Pekin Turns Out For Return Of ArmySergeant Killed In Afghanistan

Apr 26, 2012 By ANDY KRAVETZ, The State Journal-Register

Springfield

PEORIA Susan Shaffer wants to honor what she thinks would have been her son'slast wish for his friends and family - celebrate his life, not mourn his death.


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"He'd want us to celebrate his life," said the mother of U.S. Army Sgt. Dean Shaffer, 23,of Pekin, who died last week when his Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Afghanistan,killing all four aboard. "He loved what he did, did what he loved and died doing what heloved - helping others."

It's been a week since the sergeant's UH-60L crashed in Helmand province and Susan

Shaffer has been immersed in details of planning her son's funeral. It is scheduled forMonday morning at Preston-Hanley Funeral Home in Pekin.

Shaffers body was brought Thursday to the funeral home in a procession that includedhis family and about 100 members of the Illinois Patriot Guard Riders down flag-linedIllinois 29 from Gen. Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport. Hundreds morepeople lined the highway as the hearse passed by.

The Black Hawk was flying with a medevac helicopter on April 19 to pick up severalAfghan policemen injured in a suicide bombing when it crashed.

Stars and Stripes reported Tuesday on Taliban claims that a "rocket," often slang for a

rocket-propelled grenade, downed the craft.

Also killed in the crash were Chief Warrant Officer 2 Nicholas Johnson of San Diego;Chief Warrant Officer 2 Don Viray of Waipahu, Hawaii; and Sgt. Chris Workman ofBoise, Idaho.

The Pentagon is officially saying weather was the main cause of the crash, but it isinvestigating the Taliban claims.

Susan Shaffer admits she hasn't taken much time to relax since she found out last weekabout her son's death. She was in Florida at the time, on vacation with her family. Shesays having family there when she learned of Dean's death helped, because having "two

officers walk up to my door would have been too much."

She's not taking any time to rest right now, admitting that if she did, she might not get upagain. But there's that little voice in the back of her head that helps out.

"At times, I can hear Dean, saying, 'Mom, keep on keeping on,'" she said. "He was justthat way.'"

Susan Shaffer chuckled as she remembered one of her last times with her son. It waslast Christmas when she, her mother, who was 83 at the time, and others went toHawaii, where Sgt. Shaffer was stationed. Both told Susan Shaffer that when they died,they wanted a party, a celebration, not mourning. She says that's what is getting her by

right now.

Susan Shaffer and her two children - Dean and his younger sister, Jennifer - moved toIllinois in 2001. Dean blossomed in Pekin, his mother says.

"His friends were everything," she said.


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At Pekin Community High School, Dean got involved in the JROTC program and themeek child became someone who would walk to school, no matter the weather, to be ontime for drill. Dean also became involved in the community.

"One of his friends came to school once with two different shoes on. I don't know why,but when Dean asked him, the boy said, 'It was all I could find and they fit.' That day,

Dean took him out to Walmart and got him a new pair of shoes."

Susan Shaffer gets a bit teary-eyed telling those stories but quickly pulls back. Crying isnot what her son would have wanted. She'll miss the times they spent watchingNASCAR and the love of classic rock they both shared.

"He was just so bright," she said. "And I am not just saying that because he was my son.He just loved everybody, and people loved him."

She wanted to go to a parade; her mother and Dean wanted no part of it. When shereturned, she found her mother and Dean sharing a few drinks together.

Rupert Soldier Dies In AfghanistanHelicopter Crash

April 20, 2012 The Voice of Mini Cassia

RUPERT At a brick home northwest of Rupert, a flag flies at the end of the driveway,floral bouquets adorn the front porch and inside, John and Anna Workman try to come toterms with the loss of their son in last weeks helicopter crash in Afghanistan.

Army Spc Chris Workman, 33, a member of the 2nd Battalion 25th Aviation Regiment,Task Force Hammerhead, from Camp Schoffield, Hawaii, was killed with three othercomrades when their Blackhawk helicopter crashed in Garmsir District of the HemlandProvince, in southwest Afghanistan shortly after 9 p.m. last Thursday.

According to early reports by an independent News agency, Stars and Stripes, whichoften partners with the military, and confirmed by Army personnel on Tuesday, thefoursome were on a mission to support a medevac helicopter making an attempt torescue an Afghan Police who had been wounded in a suicide bomb attack.

Also killed in the crash were Chief Warrant Officer 2 Nicholas Johnson, 27, of SanDiego, Calif.; Spc Dean Shaffer, 23, of Pekin, Ill.; and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Don Viray,

25, of Waipahu, Hawaii.

Chris was doing what he loved, said his father, John Workman, from their home onTuesday afternoon.

He had always wanted to join the military; we discouraged it when he was younger, buthe was excited to be where he was.


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Workman said they have been in awe of the many people who have extended friendshipand support to them. He also extolled the Army for the support they have provided thefamily.

We have a liaison from Twin Falls that is keeping us informed of everything, and Chriswife has one in Boise as well, Workman said.

Even so, we dont know much yet. They are processing everything back east and it willbe awhile before he reaches here. There will be a funeral in Boise, then a service andburial here, but it will probably be a couple weeks.

It was in Boise that Chris Workman began his military career. He joined the ArmyNational Guard at Gowen Field there, but opted to go full-time and joined up with thegroup from Hawaii, hoping to be able to get overseas duty.

Fellow soldiers, who remembered Workman at a memorial service in AfghanistanMonday, spoke of his unfailing bravery and excellent leadership skills. As chopperscould be heard in the distance, fellow soldiers mourned the foursome in a fabric

clamshell structure. The group spilled out of the temporary building all the way to theflight line at Kandahar Air Field. They noted that Workman was working to become anofficer and often performed high above his rank.

Trained to respond to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies,Workman had retrained as a door gunner so he could go to Afghanistan.

According to a report in Stars and Stripes, young soldiers looked up to Workman whojoined the military later than some.

A friend, Cody Green, said of Workman, As a specialist, hes one of the best platoonsergeants Ive ever had.

Taliban forces took responsibility for the crash, but a provincial spokesman said therewas no indication that enemy activity was involved. Further investigation of the crash isunderway, however.

Hailed as a fallen angel a soldier who dies in an effort to save others, and a hero,Workmans father was quick to note that three others died with him and they were notlooking for, nor did they expect, notoriety because of what happened. But he noted thatthey have received an amazing outpouring of love and support from friends, neighborsand the community in the past week.

Workman, a 1997 graduate of Minico High School and 2003 graduate of Idaho State

University, worked in an escrow business in Boise following his graduation from college.When the economy fell out of real estate, he went to work as an auto glass repairman,something he had learned from his father at their family business in Rupert. He joinedthe service to provide a better living for his family and was always looking for ways tobetter himself.

Sgt. Chris Workman is a hero to all of us and a true example of the best our nation hasto offer, said Idaho Gov. C.L. Butch Otter, responding to the news of Workmans


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death. His passing is a tragedy and is deeply felt by the people of Idaho. The First Ladyand I send our thoughts and prayers to his family during this difficult time.

Along with parents and an older brother, Harry, Workman leaves behind his wife,Camille , a step-son, Cole Hayes, and his beloved dog, Lucky.

Family Of Waipahu Soldier Killed Say HeDied For The Country He Loved

Apr 24, 2012 KITV

HONOLULU -

The young man spoke softly, but his family said his kindness was felt by many.

"Good soldier; very good son, because he is a very sweet guy; very generous, kind,"said the mother of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Don Viray.

Don Viray grew up in Waipahu where he attended Waipahu High School, beforegraduating from Roosevelt.

Viray became interested in the military early, participating in ROTC. His family said hethen enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard before joining the Army.

Leo and Luz Viray said it was their son's dream to fly for his country and he planned afuture career in commercial aviation.

"He wanted to be the best pilot in the United States Army," said Leo Viray.

The 25-year-old was on his second deployment when a medevac helicopter crashed lastweek in the Helmand province of Afghanistan.

Viray and three other Hawaii-based soldiers were killed.

All of the soldiers were part of the 25th Infantry Combat Aviation Brigade.

The Virays flew to Dover Air Force base this weekend where their son's body arrivedback in the United States.

"For me it's hard to take it that my son is dead but that's the reality and I'm trying to dealwith it," said Viray's father Leo.

His father, who is retired from the Army, said his son was a hard worker who lovedserving his country -- enough to sacrifice his life.

"I'm proud that he served in this country and he did what he loved to do," said Leo Viray.


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His family said they will remember their son as a brave, young man who believed hismission overseas was to help people.

"I always think you know mother or parents should go first before their child. It's hardbecause he not going to come back anymore," said Luz Viray.

The Viray family said their son's body will be flown home this week.

The three other soliders were killed in Thursday's crash are Chief Warrant Officer 2Nicholas Johnson, Specialist Dean Schaffer, and Specialist Chris Workman.

All the soldiers were based at Schofield Barracks.

An investigation into the crash is ongoing.

POLITICIANS CANT BE COUNTED ON TO HALT

THE BLOODSHED

THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THEWAR

48 Afghan National Army PersonnelsKilled Within 20 Days

10 May, 2012 PakTribune

KABUL: A total of 48 personnel of Afghan army have been killed in the last 20 days inthe militancy-hit country, a spokesman for Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

"As many as 48 Afghan National Army (ANA) personnel lost their lives during militaryoperations and security incidents across the country over the past 20 days," GeneralZahir Azimi told reporters in weekly press briefing here.

He said 71 more soldiers and officers had been injured at the same period of time.

Taliban insurgents, whose regime was toppled in a U.S.-led incursion in late 2001, haveintensified activities since the militant group announced on May 2 to launch a springrebel offensive against Afghan security forces and NATO-led troops stationed inAfghanistan form May 3.

Resistance Action


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[Graphic:flickr.com/photos]

09 May 2012 TOLOnews & 12 May 2012 AFP

A vehicle of local police forces in Musa Qala district was hit by a bomb hit, killing onepolice, he said.

A group of six bombers stormed a government building in south eastern Paktikaprovince killing two police and two civilians.

At least five Afghan policemen were killed when a roadside mine exploded in westernHerat province on Tuesday evening. The incident happened in Posht-Rod district ofHerat province yesterday, when their vehicle struck a roadside mine. Posht-Rod districthas been considered insecure in the province because insurgents have frequentlytargeted Afghan police with violence.

IF YOU DONT LIKE THE RESISTANCEEND THE OCCUPATION

Afghans Show New Defiance InDealings With Americans:

Commanders Have Refused More ThanA Dozen Times Within The Past TwoMonths To Act On U.S. Intelligence

Regarding High-Level InsurgentsMay 11 By Kevin Sieff, The Washington Post [Excerpts]

KABUL Afghan commanders have refused more than a dozen times within the pasttwo months to act on U.S. intelligence regarding high-level insurgents, arguing thatnight-time operations to target the men would result in civilian casualties, Afghan officialssay.


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The defiance highlights the shift underway in Afghanistan as Afghan commanders makeuse of their newfound power to veto operations proposed by their NATO counterparts.

In the past, such complaints would have been unlikely to affect military operations. Butthe transition to greater Afghan control of security has left Karzai and his military in a

stronger position to stymie the American strategy.

MILITARY NEWS

NOT ANOTHER DAYNOT ANOTHER DOLLAR

NOT ANOTHER LIFE

4.24.2012: The remains of a fallen soldier at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware onSunday. One of the soldiers whose body arrived was Chief Warrant Officer NicholasJohnson, a former resident of Ontario. The soldiers also brought the remains of ChiefWarrant Officer Don C. Viray of Waipahu, Hawaii; Sgt. Dean R. Shaffer of Pekin, Ill.; andSgt. Chris J. Workman of Boise, Idaho. The four were killed in a helicopter crash in

Afghanistan. (The Associated Press)


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Public OverwhelminglySupports Large Defense

Spending Cuts:They Want To Cut Spending Far

More Deeply Than Either TheObama Administration Or The

Republicans

Disagreement With The ObamaAdministrations Continued Spending OnThe War In Afghanistan Was Particularly

IntenseTwo-Thirds Of Republicans And Nine In

10 Democrats Supported Making

Immediate Cuts A Position At OddsWith The Leaderships Of Both PoliticalParties

May 11, 2012 R. Jeffrey Smith, Center for Public Integrity [Excerpts]

While politicians, insiders and experts may be divided over how much the governmentshould spend on the nations defense, theres a surprising consensus among the publicabout what should be done:

They want to cut spending far more deeply than either the Obama administration or theRepublicans.

Thats according to the results of an innovative, new, nationwide survey by threenonprofit groups, the Center for Public integrity, the Program for Public Consultation andthe Stimson Center.


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Not only does the public want deep cuts, it wants those cuts to encompassspending in virtually every military domain air power, sea power, ground forces,nuclear weapons, and missile defenses.

According to the survey, in which respondents were told about the size of the budget aswell as shown expert arguments for and against spending cuts, two-thirds of

Republicans and nine in 10 Democrats supported making immediate cuts a position atodds with the leaderships of both political parties.

The average total cut was around $103 billion, a substantial portion of the current$562 billion base defense budget, while the majority supported cutting it at least$83 billion.

These amounts both exceed a threatened cut of $55 billion at the end of this yearunder so-called sequestration legislation passed in 2011, which Pentagonofficials and lawmakers alike have claimed would be devastating.

When Americans look at the amount of defense spending compared to spending on

other programs, they see defense as the one that should take a substantial hit to reducethe deficit, said Steven Kull, director of the Program for Public Consultation (PPC), andthe lead developer of the survey.

Clearly the polarization that you are seeing on the floor of the Congress is notreflective of the American people.

A broad disagreement with the Obama administrations current spendingapproach keeping the defense budget mostly level was shared by 75 percentof men and 78 percent of women, all of whom instead backed immediate cuts.

That view was also shared by at least 69 percent of every one of four age groups

from 18 to 60 and older, although those aged 29 and below expressed muchhigher support, at 92 percent.

Disagreement with the Obama administrations continued spending on the war inAfghanistan was particularly intense, with 85 percent of respondents expressing supportfor a statement that said in part, it is time for the Afghan people to manage their owncountry and for us to bring our troops home.

A majority of respondents backed an immediate cut, on average, of $38 billion in thewars existing $88 billion budget, or around 43 percent.

By far the most durable finding even after hearing strong arguments to the contrary

was that existing spending levels are simply too high.

Respondents were asked twice, in highly different ways, to say what they thought thebudget should be, and a majority supported roughly the same answer each time: a cut ofat least 11 to 13 percent (they cut on average 18 to 22 percent).

In one exercise, a larger group chose to cut the defense budget (62 percentsupported this) than to cut non-defense spending (50 percent) or to raise taxes (27percent).


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FORWARD OBSERVATIONS

At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh hadI the ability, and could reach the nations ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream ofbiting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke.

For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder.

We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.

The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom theyoppose.

Frederick Douglass, 1852

The Social-Democrats ideal should not be the trade union secretary, but thetribune of the people who is able to react to every manifestation of tyranny andoppression no matter where it appears no matter what stratum or class of the

people it affects; who is able to generalize all these manifestations and produce asingle picture of police violence and capitalist exploitation; who is able to takeadvantage of every event, however small, in order to set forth before all hissocialist convictions and his democratic demands, in order to clarify for all andeveryone the world-historic significance of the struggle for the emancipation ofthe proletariat.-- V. I. Lenin; What Is To Be Done


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Despite The Massive Amount OfResources Allocated To The War

On Drugs, The Drug WarriorsHaven't Made A Dent In The

Growing, Refining, TransportingAnd Use Of Drugs In AfghanistanThey Believe That The Success Of

The War In Afghanistan Is ContingentUpon The Success In The War On

DrugsThis Double Fantasy, That Either WarCan Be Won, Is A Living Nightmare ForAfghans And For People In The Entire

RegionApril 19, 2012 By Helen Redmond, Socialist Worker

THE U.S. State Department just released its annual International Narcotics ControlStrategy Report (INCSR) for 2012. The document, commissioned by President BarackObama and written in conjunction with the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law


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Enforcement Affairs, assesses the global "war on drugs" and the progress of prohibitionin 2011.

The report scolds, warns and bullies what it identifies as major source countries for thecultivation of illicit drugs and major drug transit routes. Some 115 countries are listedand evaluated, with one notable exception: the United States (although the U.S. does

make the list of countries accused of laundering drug money).

Obama's "majors list" of drug war slackers includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, India,Myanmar, Laos, Jamaica, Haiti, the entire region of Central America, and Bolivia,Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.

The U.S. has reserved for itself the preeminent position of global drug czar and chiefenforcer of drug prohibition.

But who gave the U.S. the right to judge other countries?

Over and over again, the report states that intervention in other countries to fight the

drug war is "vital to the national interests of the United States."

Those "national interests" are never explained, but the reason for this is simple: TheU.S. regularly uses the "war on drugs" as a pretext to intervene in the internal affairs ofsovereign nations.

The drug war allows U.S. foreign policy objectives to be advanced in country aftercountry by an elite force of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, who aretrained by and partner with each branch of the U.S. military.

In 2008, this partnership was formally cemented when the Department of Defense (DoD)modified a policy to allow military personnel to accompany U.S. drug law enforcement

agents and host federal law enforcement agents on joint reconnaissance missions anddrug raids.

Countries that adhere to United Nations Drug Control Conventions and "take legalmeasures to outlaw and punish all forms of illicit drug production, trafficking, and drugmoney laundering" are given passing grades. Three countries flunked and received thedesignation "failed demonstrably." They are Bolivia, Venezuela and Myanmar.

In 2008, Bolivia expelled Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents. Thegovernment of Evo Morales has insisted that Bolivians have an ancestral right to chewcoca leaf. The U.S. has arrogantly insisted that consumption of all forms of coca isillegal.

U.S. hostility toward Venezuelan President Hugo Chvez virtually guaranteed thatVenezuela would fail America's test for countries to be considered allies in the "war ondrugs." In addition, Chvez stopped formal cooperation with the DEA, and Venezuelanofficials have stated publicly that they won't work with the U.S. on counternarcoticsoperations.

In 2005, Antonio Maria Costa, former executive director of the United Nations Office onDrugs and Crime (UNODC), wrote approvingly in the preface to the Myanmar Opium


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Survey that "opium cultivation has steadily declined since 2000, and two-thirds of poppycrops have disappeared." Fast forward to 2012, and Myanmar is the world's second-largest opium supplier, and in the past five years, poppy cultivation has doubled.

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IN 1998, the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) coined thecatchphrase, "A drug-free world, we can do it!" The date estimated for the drug-freeworld was 2008.

We didn't do it.

Every country has failed demonstrably in halting the cultivation, manufacture andconsumption of drugs.

The global illicit drug trade is thriving and is valued at $325 billion a year. The illicit drugtrade employs an international workforce of hundreds of thousands, from the chemistwho transforms raw opium gum into heroin in clandestine labs, to the women "drug

mules" who swallow condoms full of heroin and board planes to deliver the drugs, andmore.

A vast assortment of psychoactive substances is easily available, from new designerdrugs to traditional ones like heroin, cocaine, cannabis and hashish. There's no shortageof recreational and addicted drug users, and prices have fallen dramatically in manycountries. The United States continues to be the largest consumer of illegal drugsdespite its own failed 40-year drug war.

Afghanistan is ground zero in the global war on drugs in South Asia. The U.S. haspumped billions into the country and deployed at least 100 DEA agents, dedicatedthousands of troops, including U.S. Navy SEALs and Special Ops forces, to interdict

drugs, capture smugglers and destroy manufacturing labs.

Curiously, Afghanistan made the "majors list," but isn't on the list of faileddemonstrably, even though it has by every measure.

The reason Afghanistan didn't receive that designation is because it would be anadmission that the U.S.-led war on drugs has failed--demonstrably. Instead, the countryreport on Afghanistan concluded, "The overall counter-narcotics effort this year waspositive...These gains remain fragile."

For an uninterrupted decade, Afghanistan has produced 90 percent of the world'sillicit opium.

Opium makes up 35 percent of Afghanistan's GDP and is an integral part of theeconomy, particularly in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar where themajority of poppy is grown.

But it is only when heroin is sold to wholesalers outside of Afghanistan that the priceclimbs 2,000 percent and a kilogram of heroin costs more than $50,000. The globalheroin trade is valued at $32.5 billion.


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Afghanistan is also the largest global producer of hashish. The farm-gate value of thecrop is estimated to be worth between $85 million and $263 million. Afghan agriculture isstill heavily dependent on poppy and hashish for export because those markets areguaranteed. No legal agricultural products that farmers grow can penetrate or competein the world market and bring in a rate of return comparable to illicit drugs.

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IN 2010, the U.S. government adopted a counter-narcotics strategy on behalf ofAfghanistan. In a report to the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control,Afghanistan was defined as a country that is "spawning narco-terrorists" and a "narco-insurgency." The report, using menacing drug war rhetoric, called heroin "a weapon" andthose involved in the drug trade "merchants of death." The demonization andcriminalization of the people of Afghanistan justifies, fuels and funds the war on drugs.

The report stated, "The Taliban is a terrorist organization and a drug cartel, ideology andgreed being their principal motivators." But the Karzai government, the Afghan militaryand police are also centrally involved in drug trafficking.

The counter-narcotics strategy for Afghanistan continues the same failed policies of thepast. President Obama is committed to ramping up all aspects of the war on drugs andtaking charge of prosecuting it.

U.S. drug warriors admit that the Afghan Ministry of Narcotics, the Criminal Justice TaskForce, and the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan cannot sustain the war withoutdirect support from the DoD.

The U.S. military is developing and training three specially vetted elite units toinvestigate, kill or capture "high-value" drug trafficking targets. The DEA wants moreChinook helicopters at a price tag of $32 million each. "The most significant factor we

face in Afghanistan is helicopter lift," said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. "The DEAmust have helicopter lift capacity that is night-capable and flown by veteran pilots."

The counter-narcotics strategy includes a "judicial end game." The goal is to create afully staffed judicial system that can prosecute Afghans involved at all levels of the drugtrade and to build more jails and prisons to incarcerate them.

The reality is that, despite the massive amount of resources allocated to the war ondrugs, the drug warriors haven't made a dent in the growing, refining, transporting anduse of drugs in Afghanistan or in the bordering countries of Pakistan, Tajikistan and Iran.

The U.S. State Department and military officials assert that future American troop

reductions in Afghanistan won't affect counter-narcotics operations.

They believe that the success of the war in Afghanistan is contingent upon the successin the war on drugs.

This double fantasy, that either war can be won, is a living nightmare for Afghans and forpeople in the entire region.


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ANNIVERSARIES

Resistance ActionMay 13, 1968: Heroic AnniversaryThe French General Strike Begins

We Are The Power

Carl Bunin Peace History May 7-13

Workers joined Paris students protest, launching a general strike calling for the fall ofthe government and protesting police brutality.

The protest by French students included occupation of The Sorbonne; by the endof the month over 10,000,000 had been involved in school and workplaceoccupations.


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DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK

CLASS WAR REPORTS


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