Evening link drop

Trump will inherit a Middle East in flames, and will no doubt make it worse.

How the FBI’s assault on security provoked a backlash.  Feds lost the PR battle in the encryption battle, and in politics, PR is everything.  Default encryption is safer than ever.

Revisiting the “Humanitarian” Intervention in Libya: “…the U.S. and NATO repeatedly stood in the way of proposed ceasefires. Prior to the initiation of the “humanitarian” bombing campaign, Qaddafi proposed a ceasefire between his forces and the rebels, which was rejected. A second ceasefire offer, developed by the main regional stakeholder, the African Union, and supported by Qaddafi was rejected on April 10. The AU proposal called for a ceasefire, the creation of corridors for the delivery of humanitarian aid, and a dialogue to open discussions on reforming Libya’s political system. A similar proposal was again rejected on April 29.

Clearly, the protection of life was not chief among U.S. and NATO’s concerns. This is made even clearer by the U.S. and NATO’s continuous military support for the rebels even as they committed war crimes. In its March 2012 report, the International Commission of Inquiry on Libya found that the rebels committed “acts of extrajudicial executions of those perceived to be loyalists, suspected mercenaries and captured Qadhafi soldiers, particularly when towns first came under control of thuwar (anti-Qaddafi forces).” Again, thanks to the release of Clinton’s emails, we know that the Obama administration was aware that the rebels were committing crimes by as early as ten days into the bombing campaign. In a March 27, 2011 email from Blumenthal, Clinton was informed that “one rebel commander stated that his troops continue to summarily execute all foreign mercenaries in the fighting.”

The U.S. and NATO perpetrated a war of aggression against Libya under knowingly false “humanitarian” pretenses. Further, while conducting their war of aggression, they materially supported the armed opposition with the knowledge that the rebels were committing war crimes. That adds complicity in the rebels’ crimes to their “humanitarian” record. As if that were not enough, the U.S. and NATO, by virtue of the above, are responsible for the widespread lawlessness that consumed Libya subsequent to the intervention and that continues today.”

Military “Invisibility Cloaks” Could Violate the Geneva Conventions.  Impersonating the civilian populace, which is what the tech effectively does, is a coward’s strategy, as we are constantly reminded of when “terrorists” do the same thing in one of our many Mid-East warzones.

FEE’s Jeff Tucker is upbeat about the prospects for liberty in our time, despite outward appearances

 

Author: S. Smith