U.S. and the World

Dictator of the Month: Who Is Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus?

In 2006, Lukashenko was reelected president with the announced support of 82.6% of voters. The campaign of his opponent, Aleksandr Milinkevich, was so severely restricted by the government that he was reduced to surreptitiously distributing fliers that gave a phone number where he could be reached for an hour. Lukashenko was reelected again in December 2010. After the election was over, he had five of the nine candidates who ran against him arrested. read more

Is Syria the New Afghanistan? Foreign Fighters Arrive by the Thousands

The Soufan report estimates less than a hundred individuals left the U.S. for the Syria campaign, and perhaps 3,000 total from all Western countries. That’s about a quarter of all the foreign jihadists and others to join one of the many Syrian rebel groups. In contrast, more than half of all the foreign fighters have traveled from three Arab nations: Tunisia (3,000), Saudi Arabia (2,500) and Morocco (1,500). read more

Half the Prisoners at Guantánamo Have been Cleared for Release, but Still Can’t Leave

With the departure of the Taliban prisoners, more than half of Gitmo’s population now consists of individuals approved for release (78 out of 149). Another Reprieve official, founder Clive Stafford Smith, says the freeing of the Taliban Five was an act of hypocrisy. “The five Taliban were arguably among those who had actually committed crimes, if fighting foreign troops who invaded their country could be deemed an offense. At the very least, they had taken part in hostilities." read more

Veterans Suffering from Titanium, Iron and Copper Dust Picked up at Iraq Base

Szema’s research shows that 14% of service members who had deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan suffered from new-onset respiratory issues. The dust could have been formed in the notorious burn pits used by the military to dispose of everything from plastics to computers to munitions. It is also possible the dust was forged during the 1991 Gulf War, when thousands of tons of ordinance were exploded, turning dust to metal in the process, according to scientists in Italy. read more

Pentagon Wants to Allow Undocumented Immigrants to Join Military; Obama Says Not Yet

Those eligible for the Pentagon’s program, called Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest, would have to have grown up in the U.S. and possess desired medical or strategic language skills valued by the military. The languages sought include Arabic, Farsi, Hindi and several from Africa. Obama still hopes that House Republicans will adopt immigration reforms this summer. read more

Bipartisan House Members Call on D.C. to Rename Street in Front of Chinese Embassy for Imprisoned Dissident

Borrowing a page from the Cold War, members of Congress from both parties have suggested that the city of Washington, D.C., rename the street in front of the Chinese embassy after a renowned political dissident locked away in prison. In 2009, Liu Xiaobo was charged and convicted of trying to subvert the Beijing government, resulting in an 11-year sentence. The following year he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. read more

U.S. Said to Record all Cell Phone Calls in Afghanistan and…Bahamas

NSA documents show that the program, called SOMALGET, is in use in the Bahamas to locate “international narcotics traffickers and special-interest alien smugglers,” according to The Intercept. Washington doesn’t even pretend there’s a terror-related reason for the collection. “There is little to no threat facing Americans from domestic (Bahamian) terrorism, war, or civil unrest,” according to a 2013 State Department report. read more

Majority of CIA Drone Attacks in Pakistan Hit Homes

• Sixty-one percent of drone strikes in Pakistan targeted domestic buildings, with at least 132 houses destroyed, in more than 380 strikes. • At least 222 civilians are estimated to be among the 1,500 or more people killed in attacks on such buildings. • The time of an attack affects how many people—and how many civilians—are likely to die. Strikes that took place in the evening, when families are likely to be at home, were particularly deadly. read more

CIA to End Fake Vaccination Program that Led to Killing of Osama bin Laden…but also Deaths of Real Health Workers

The CIA has finally shuttered its fake vaccination program that was set up to help find Osama bin Laden three years ago. But the operation did much harm in Pakistan, where health workers were murdered once word got out about the program. At least 22 polio workers have been killed since 2012, and more have been kidnapped. The decision comes a year after public health officials wrote to President Obama to complain about the the phony program. read more

D.C. Law Firm Hired by German Government to Threaten Its Lawmakers with Prosecution if They Speak to Edward Snowden

Members of the German parliament intent on learning more about the NSA surveillance of German citizens have said they want whistleblower Edward Snowden to testify before a special committee investigating the issue. Merkel’s government, however, fears it would only stir more trouble for the German-American alliance. The lawmakers have refused to back down, so government officials hired a Washington-based law firm to threaten them if they take Snowden’s testimony. read more

U.S. Military Plans Policy Shift in Response to Anticipated National Security Threats Caused by Climate Change

Some conservatives continue to insist climate change is an exaggeration or hoax. But the institution so beloved by the right-wing—the U.S. military—believes climate change is real and represents a serious threat to long-term national security. A new report warns that climate change could disrupt important military operations in the U.S., and flooding could jeopardize military ports. The Norfolk Navy base, for one, "would go,” said Gen. Charles Wald. read more

U.N. Convenes to Discuss Danger of Killer Robots while Nobel Laureates Urge They Be Banned

Automated warfare machines, or “killer robots,” do not exist. But the possibility of them in operation—in the near future—is enough to worry many world leaders and Nobel laureates who have called for a ban on such technology. South Korea already has deployed surveillance robots that can fire built-in machine guns without a person in control. Israel is working on a drone that can choose its own targets, and the U.S. has its armed unmanned drones. read more

“Unstoppable” Polar Ice Melt Portends Rising Oceans and Society in Crisis

Global warming has already produced a point of no return for a mammoth section of the Antarctica ice sheet, whose melting will help significantly raise sea levels in the coming centuries, according to two teams of scientists. “This is really happening,” said NASA's Thomas Wagner.“There’s nothing to stop it now." The consequence of the ice sheet melting could mean an increase of 10 feet in sea levels, which would pose a crisis for coastal cities and communities around the world. read more

America’s Top CEOs Reluctantly Succumb to White House Pressure to Boycott Russian Forum

Under intense lobbying from the White House, top U.S. CEOs have reluctantly agreed to skip an upcoming economic forum in Russia. The Obama administration has targeted Vladimir Putin's annual event as another way to punish the leader for his actions in Ukraine. Many CEOs grumbled about being caught in the middle, risking making an enemy of either Putin or Obama. “Some companies are trying to do their best to avoid getting trapped in this minefield,” said one official. read more

Top Foreign Governments Seeking to Influence Washington

Governments with close ties to Washington spent more money last year to lobby Congress and the Obama administration than other foreign capitals. Foreign spenders seeking to influence U.S. policymaking were led by the United Arab Emirates, which doled $14 million on American lobbying firms to push its interests, which included “illicit finance issues.” The other top spenders after the UAE were all American allies: Germany, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico. read more

Is the CIA Storing Weapons in Texas?

Camp Stanley, a U.S. Army base outside San Antonio, may have doubled as a secret weapons depot for the CIA going back to the height of the Cold War. Guns and explosives were shipped from the base to foreign countries where the CIA was operating covert missions, including those aimed at the Soviet Union and al Qaeda. The cache also helped supply the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, as well as rebels in Angola, Nicaragua, and Afghanistan. read more