Author: Steven Sahiounie

by MARJORIE COHN The U.S. government has used the post-9/11 war on terror to launch two major wars, mount gunship and drone attacks on several countries, and institute a widespread program of torture and abuse. Casualties of those conflicts number in the hundreds of thousands. Another casualty of the war on terror is civil liberties. From the USA PATRIOT Act, to warrantless surveillance, to the Muslim ban, to the use of metadata to spy on people and target for drone strikes, the deprivation of constitutional rights has continued during the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations. An additional assault on the Constitution is the terrorism watchlist, a federal government database…

North Korea has called on the United States to provide security guarantees as a precondition to the resumption of stalled nuclear negotiations between the two sides. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) cited a senior official from the North’s foreign ministry as making the remark on Monday. The director-general of the department of US affairs, who was not named, said in a statement that “discussion of denuclearization may be possible when threats and hurdles endangering our system security and obstructing our development are clearly removed beyond all doubt.” It was up to Washington whether it would prove to…

The serial production of Russia’s most advanced S-500 long-range air defense missile system will start in the second half of 2020, CEO of Russia’s state hi-tech corporation Rostec Sergei Chemezov said in an interview with business daily RBC. “I believe that the serial production will begin in one year time,” Chemezov said. According to him, Russia will not be exporting the new air defense system in the course of five years, because “first of all, we need to provide for our Army and only then start export production.” The S-500 is set to replace the S-400 air defense missile system.…

Earlier, President Trump said Washington had “reason to believe” that it knew “the culprit” of Saturday’s drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, and warned that the US was “locked and loaded” pending verification from the Saudis on who they believe is responsible. The Saudi-led military coalition against Yemen’s Houthi militia has announced that ‘preliminary findings’ have shown that Saturday’s attack on Saudi Aramco facilities used Iranian-made weapons which did not originate in Yemen. Speaking at a press conference in Riyadh on Monday, coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki said the investigation was still ongoing, and that investigators were presently looking…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested Saudi Arabia should buy Russian air defense systems to protect its oil facilities from drone attacks, pointing to Iran and Turkey, who operate S-300 and S-400 missiles, respectively. “Saudi Arabia needs to make a smart decision, as Iran did by buying our S-300, and as Mr. Erdogan did by deciding to buy the most advanced S-400 Triumph air defense systems from Russia,” Putin told reporters in Ankara on Monday. “These kinds of systems are capable of defending any kind of infrastructure in Saudi Arabia from any kind of attack.” Putin was answering a question about the…

Steven Sahiounie, Middle East observer The occupation of Palestine is always at the center of Middle East turmoil, and it would seem the name which is associated with conflicts in the region for over 23 years is Benjamin Netanyahu. It all began in 1996 with a paper prepared for him by Richard T. Perle, entitled “A Clean Break”. The paper advocated regime change in Iraq, deposing Saddam Hussein, and aggressive action against Syria to break their ties with Hezbollah and Iran. This strategy was supposed to make “Israel” safer. It wasn’t until September 11, 2001, that the paper was dusted…

Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has strongly condemned the “criminal and repressive” actions of US-sponsored and Kurdish-led militants from the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ordinary Syrians, stating that they are in line with schemes devised by Israeli officials and implemented by regimes subservient to Washington. The ministry, in identical letters sent to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the rotating President of the UN Security Council Vasily Nebenzya on Sunday, announced that SDF militants continue their terrorist and criminal exercises against Syrians in Syria’s eastern provinces of Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr in addition to the northern provinces of Raqqah and Aleppo. The…

France, Britain and Germany on Friday expressed deep concern at Iran’s “violations of the 2015 deal” and urged it to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, Reuters reports. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed in its report on September 8 that advanced centrifuges had been installed or were being installed in Natanz. “We are deeply concerned by these activities,” the European parties to the nuclear agreement said in their first joint statement since the IAEA briefing earlier this week. “We continue to support the JCPOA [nuclear accord] and urge Iran to reverse its activities that violate its JCPOA commitments, and…

The People’s National Assembly of Algeria – the lower house of the parliament – earlier this week approved a draft law to ensure fair presidential elections, as well as resolve issues between government and the opposition. In a televised speech, Algerian Interim President Abdelkader Bensalah announced on Sunday that the country will hold a presidential election on 12 December. “Within the constitutional powers, it was decided to set the date for the presidential election on 12 Decembe 2019”, the interim president said. The bill to ensure fair presidential elections reduces the role of the government in organizing and conducting the process and…

The US guided missile destroyer USS Ramage has docked at the Lebanese capital, becoming the first US warship to do so since 1984. According to the Twitter account of the US Embassy in Beirut, the ship’s arrival serves as “a symbol of the enduring partnership between the US and Lebanon to ensure security and stability in the eastern Mediterranean.” Later, the Embassy called the docking a “goodwill visit” aimed at “showcasing” the “strong US-Lebanon relationship”. US Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard called the destroyer’s visit a “security reminder,” meant to demonstrate that “the US Navy is not far away,” and…