#dirtywars

Finally starting this bad boy. Huge fan of #JeremyScahill since #Blackwater and #DirtyWars #AssassinationComplex

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If that is what interests you, you should definitely watch the documentary ‘Dirty Wars’ by Rick Rowley and Jeremy Scahill about the US’s covert wars in Yemen, Afghanistan and Somalia. 

I highly recommend watching this Academy Award nominated documentary, Dirty Wars. It's a graphic example of how unbelievably shielded we are from the actions and violence carried out by our administrations' covert operations for what has become a borderless War on Terror for well over a decade now. Please take the time to watch it and learn about what our country is doing in other countries. Jeremy Scahill is a a truth teller.

Recently I watched the documentary film Dirty Wars, which depicted the work of investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill as he travelled to Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia; three countries where the US has undertaken covert military operations. Scahill's journalism was extremely important and courageous, and for an aspiring journalist like myself it was immensely inspiring. Afghanistan Firstly, Scahill ventured to Afghanistan to investigate regular night raids that were committed by the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), a branch of the United States Special Operations Command. Given the uniquely dangerous environment that he was surrounded by, highlighted by the fact that he witnessed an attack from the Taliban, Scahill's accurate reporting has become important research for anyone trying to fully understand the war in Afghanistan. It was during this chapter of the film that sparked me to consider the frequent use of the word "terrorist", considering the extremities of its implications, in today's political discourse. It was almost as if anyone who challenged US hegemony was immediately labelled a "terrorist"; probably through general laziness or ignorance. Scahill turned his attention to the case of British journalist Jerome Starkey, who's work on civilian casualties in Afghanistan was denounced by NATO's International Security Assistance Force, who even tried to censor his reporting. Despite this quite appalling behaviour on behalf of NATO (I suppose we're used to worse from them!) Starkey continued his research and he managed to expose a JSOC night raid in Eastern Afghanistan which, finally, forced an apology from JSOC's Vice Admiral William McRaven. As Scahill succinctly concluded; the war in Afghanistan had become JSOC's war. "I didn't want to admit it. But life back home was dull after being in a war zone." This was Scahill's reaction to arriving back in the US. This may seem quite an odd reaction, however from my little experience of reporting from a war zone I totally understood his feelings. Despite the profound information that Scahill provides in the film, it also enables the viewer to empathise deeply with his array of emotions; of curiosity, anger and misery. Yemen Scahill then focused on events in al-Majalah, in Yemen, which in December 2009 was the victim of 5 missile strikes. These strikes killed up to 50 people, including 14 women and 21 children. After the attack, Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye reported that the site of the bombing was littered with remnants of US Tomahawk missiles and cluster munitions, which contradicted the claims of the Yemeni government, who declared that in fact they were responsible for the attack. These reports were dismissed by US Pentagon officials but later confirmed by Amnesty International and other reputable news sources. It was later proven that JSOC was responsible for the attack, further evident from the fact that a photograph of Yemen's president meeting with the Head of JSOC (at the time), Admiral William McRaven, was published on the President of Yemen's personal website. This brings us onto the case of Anwar al-Awlaki, a US citizen sentenced to death without being charged with a crime. He was accused of inciting terrorism, through lectures and speeches and in September 2011 was killed by a Predator drone carried out by JSOC. Anwar al-Awlaki loved America, but became more vocal against the US after 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq. He was deeply affected by the events that followed 9/11 and praised some of the attacks against the US. For many Americans this was enough for them to call him a terrorist. He later turned to more militaristic approaches and jihad; an identity he had once opposed. It was quite a simple transition to comprehend - the US had helped create the man that it later killed. "I want [a] decent American lawyer to tell me that it is right for the United States government to kill an American citizen on the basis that he said something against the United States or against American soldiers." - Anwar al-Awlaki's father. To make matters worse, two weeks later, a US drone strike killed Anwar al-Awlaki's 16 year-old son Abdulrahman. Why would he be on the kill list? The Americans said he was collateral damage, but gave no explanation for the death and didn't even apologise. All of these incidents are somewhat staggering considering the US had never declared war on Yemen, but in modern day warfare this is known as a covert war. Those that defend the operations of JSOC, based on notions of national security, must be unaware of the fact that their actions only deteriorate the security situation both inside and outside of the US. Drones have become the new - and most cowardly - weapon of war. Conclusion Scahill ended his treacherous journey in Somalia and the capital Mogadishu, where there are now no foreign journalists left. He was embedded with US-backed Somali warlords, which seemed like his most dangerous journalistic experience in the film. Somalia is a country in ruins and after falling victim to a decade of covert war, half of the country is now ruled by the local al-Qaeda affiliate and the other half by the US-backed warlords. All three of these countries have suffered from US covert operations. Operations that if perpetrated the other way around would almost certainly be deemed acts of terrorism. But somehow, in front of our eyes, undeclared acts of state terrorism have been launched across the globe. Foreign and US citizens alike have been assassinated by US Presidential decree. The War on Terror is an endless, counterproductive war that will only lead to more civilian deaths around the world. Dirty Wars is a thought-provoking production that sheds light on the appalling acts of US covert wars and helps viewers to understand the repercussions of the Global War on Terror. Consciousness is the beginning, but real action needs to be taken to halt US policies of brutality being inflicted on civilians across the globe.

https://vimeo.com/82290476