This account of the build-up to the Iraq war by Robert Kelley is a superb succinct summary. Still, to this day, no one has been held accountable for this devastating illegal invasion. Instead, as Kelley says, it’s passed off as ‘a story of faulty and inadequate intelligence, rather than robust and reliable intelligence information ignored.’ … Continue reading Iraq: Ignoring the Expert Weapons Inspectors Proved to Be a Fatal Mistake
Unforgiveable
The abject failure of post 9/11 foreign and military policies in Afghanistan The utter failure of international foreign and defence policy in Afghanistan (going back decades) with all the deep, profound consequences for the Afghan people, was the cumulative result of wilful, self seeking, ignorant, short-term, wrong-headed strategies which lined the pockets of defence contractors … Continue reading Unforgiveable
Where USA is at War
contrary to what most Americans believe, the war on terror is not winding down—it has spread to more than 40 percent of the world’s countries. The war isn’t being waged by the military alone, which has spent $1.9 trillion fighting terrorism since 2001. The State Department has spent $127 billion in the last 17 years … Continue reading Where USA is at War
Record number of bombs dropped on Afghanistan in 2018
https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/11/13/the-u-s-never-dropped-as-many-bombs-on-afghanistan-as-it-did-in-2018-infographic/ Even though the conflict has been making fewer headlines in recent years, the U.S. has never dropped as many bombs on Afghanistan as it did this year. According to U.S. Air Forces Central Command data, manned and unmanned aircraft released 5,213 weapons between January and the end of September 2018. Previously, 2010 held the record for … Continue reading Record number of bombs dropped on Afghanistan in 2018
Price tag of the ‘war on terror’ will top $6 trillion soon
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/11/14/price-tag-of-the-war-on-terror-will-top-6-trillion-soon/ The price tag of the ongoing “war on terror” in the Middle East will likely top $6 trillion next year, and will reach $7 trillion if the conflicts continue into the early 2020s, according to a new report out Wednesday. The annual Costs of War project report, from the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown … Continue reading Price tag of the ‘war on terror’ will top $6 trillion soon
Transform defence for sustainable human safety 