If one thing has become clear in the past year or two, it is that even more than in the rest of our lives, on the internet and social media, appearances can be deceiving. From Russian trolling operations that we've heard so much about in the news, to less widely covered (and seemingly less effective) … Continue reading Iraqi security forces latest weapon? Facebook
Tag: iraq
We may soon learn more about the extent to which the United States' military has allowed its own soldiers to be exposed to a wide range of poisons -- on purpose, in some cases, as part of chemical weapons experiments. In what Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists' Secrecy News calls "an unusual … Continue reading NDAA requires declassification of toxic exposure records
The Pentagon's recent admission that more U.S. troops are deployed to war zones than previously disclosed has caused some controversy. But another consistently underestimated number -- that of civilian casualties of America's wars -- has received less attention, even as the death toll continues to mount seemingly without interruption. On Friday the U.S.-led coalition fighting … Continue reading U.S. acknowledges civilian casualties as death toll keeps rising
Last week, following U.S. President Donald Trump's speech on Afghanistan, Erik Prince, founder of the controversial mercenary contractor firm Blackwater, said that Trump would soon have to rethink what he described as "a kind of Obama-lite policy." Now, however, it appears that it is Prince who is rethinking his policy proposal, or at least his … Continue reading After Trump speech, Blackwater founder still pushing Afghanistan mercenary plan
The United States' military has been in Afghanistan for nearly 16 years. Yet details of the situation today in that country tend to remain unclear to many Americans, as the war has long faded into the background of the often asinine 24-hour news cycle. While U.S. civilians should probably pay more attention to their country's … Continue reading Thousands more U.S. troops stationed overseas than previously acknowledged
Nearly three years after the U.S. began bombing the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq and Syria, and just in time for Memorial Day weekend, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle called for a new Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) in the ongoing conflict on Thursday, echoing past proposals. "Congress should be … Continue reading Lawmakers renew push for counter-terrorism military force authorization
While former President Barack Obama recently left office with a much higher approval rating than his predecessor, George W. Bush, his dramatic escalation of drone strikes around the world remains an undeniable and controversial component of his legacy -- and one that, like his healthcare reform law, appears to be continuing under the new … Continue reading U.S. airstrike civilian deaths escalate, no end in sight
When it comes to reporting numbers of civilians and "combatants" it kills, the Pentagon attempts to paint itself in a positive light. Last summer, after the Obama administration released a report estimating that between 64 and 116 civilians had been killed in drone strikes on the president's watch, it was widely criticized for under-counting by … Continue reading Thousands of unreported deadly airstrikes the latest in sloppy Pentagon record keeping
Among other unprecedented steps, President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration includes a temporarily ban on immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries -- Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya, and Somalia -- with the ostensible goal of preventing terrorism. For a variety of reasons, however, close observers of Islamist extremism say that Trump's plan will only … Continue reading Trump’s Muslim ban is the recruiting tool ISIS has dreamed of, experts say
The U.S. reached some new military milestones last year. America dropped at least 26,171 bombs in 2016, for example -- over 3,000 more than the year before, averaging about one bomb every 20 minutes. And that number includes only bombs dropped in some of the better known conflict areas where the U.S. is involved -- … Continue reading Trump promises more for less military spending, experts expect budget hikes
MirrorWilderness.com 