Tag Archives: U.S.

U.S. AND ISRAEL LOOK TO LIMIT IMPACT OF U.N. VOTE ON PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

Published: November 28, 2012

WASHINGTON — After failing to head off a vote in the United Nations on Thursday that would upgrade the Palestinian Authority’s status, the United States and Israel are looking ahead to how they can contain the damage from the approval of a resolution that even some European allies have signaled they will support.

The draft resolution calls on the United Nations General Assembly to upgrade the Palestinian Authority to a nonmember observer state. It is virtually certain to pass, despite the opposition of the United States and a handful of other nations.

Challenges in Defining an Israeli-Palestinian Border

Original Article

U.S. Adds Forces in Persian Gulf, a Signal to Iran – NYTimes.com

The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf beyond it, as seen from the International Space Station in 2003. Iran is to the right. NASA, via Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The United States has quietly moved significant military reinforcements into the Persian Gulf to deter the Iranian military from any possible attempt to shut the Strait of Hormuz and to increase the number of fighter jets capable of striking deep into Iran if the standoff over its nuclear program escalates.

“The message to Iran is, ‘Don’t even think about it,’ ” …

Read More: U.S increases Forces, a Signal to Iran –

Jimmy Carter Accuses U.S. of Widespread Abuse of Human Rights – Yahoo! News

Jimmy Carter Accuses U.S. of Widespread Abuse of Human RightsBy Amy Bingham | ABC News – 22 hrs agoEmail86PrintRelated ContentJimmy Carter Accuses U.S. of Widespread …A former U.S. president is accusing the current president of sanctioning the “widespread abuse of human rights” by authorizing drone strikes to kill suspected terrorists.Jimmy Carter, Americas 39 th president, denounced the Obama administration for “clearly violating” 10 of the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, writing in a New York Times op-ed on Monday that the “United States is abandoning its role as the global champion of human rights.””Instead of making the world safer, Americas violation of international human rights abets our enemies and alienates our friends,” Carter wrote.While the total number of attacks from unmanned aircraft, or drones, and the resulting casualties are murky, the New America Foundation estimates that in Pakistan alone 265 drone strikes have been executed since January 2009 . Those strikes have killed at least 1,488 people, at least 1,343 of them considered militants, the foundation estimates based on news reports and other sources.In addition to the drone strikes, Carter criticized the current president for keeping the Guantanamo Bay detention center open, where prisoners “have been tortured by waterboarding more than 100 times or intimidated with semiautomatic weapons, power drills or threats to sexually assault their mothers.”The former president blasted the government for allowing “unprecedented violations of our rights to privacy through warrantless wiretapping and government mining of our electronic communications.”Want more off-the-cuff politics? Check out OTUS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @OTUSNews.He also condemned recent legislation that gives the president the power to detain suspected terrorists indefinitely, although a federal judge blocked the law from taking effect for any suspects not affiliated with the September 11 terrorist attacks.”This law violates the right to freedom of expression and to be presumed innocent until proved guilty, two other rights enshrined in the declaration,” Carter said.While Carter never mentioned Obama by name, he called out “our government” and “the highest authorities in Washington,” and urged “concerned citizens” to “persuade Washington to reverse course and regain moral leadership.”Get more pure politics at ABC News.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com

via Jimmy Carter Accuses U.S. of Widespread Abuse of Human Rights – Yahoo! News.

US: Russia sending Syria attack helicopters – WTOP.com

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration said Tuesday that Russia is sending attack helicopters to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime….

Pentagon in awkward position,  U.S. military has come under criticism in Congress for working through what is apparently the same Russian firm to purchase helicopters for the Afghan army. 

Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, had initially raised questions about the Russian contractor. He had written a letter Monday to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta expressing “grave concerns” about U.S. dealings with the firm that is “arming the Assad regime” in Syria. 

Read more: US CONFIRMS RUSSIA SENDING SYRIA ATTACK HELICOPTERS