Tag Archives: Department of State

In Latest Assault on Palestinian Rights, US Shutters Jerusalem Consulate

Critics say so-called merger “is nothing more than a smokescreen trying to camouflage what is essentially an opening of American embassy in Jerusalem”

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 3-4-2019

U.S. Ambassador David Friedman spoke on July 25, 2017 at a special meeting in the Knesset, organized by the Knesset Caucus for U.S. (Photo: Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv/flickr/cc)

The U.S. officially closed its consulate general in Jerusalem, which had served as the de facto diplomatic mission for Palestinians.

While the State Department framed the move as a “merger” with its embassy in the city, critics say it’s another setback for peace that puts Israeli interests over Palestinian rights. Continue reading →

New Study Details ‘Staggering’ $6 Trillion (and Counting) Price Tag of Endless US War

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“The U.S. continues to fund the wars by borrowing, so this is a conservative estimate of the consequences of funding the war as if on a credit card.”

By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 11-15-2018Wa

Total U.S. spending on war and all of its related costs will hit nearly $6 trillion by the end of 2019, according to the Watson Institute (Photo: Carpetblogger/flickr/cc)

While the human costs will remain impossible to calculate, a new analysis shows that the Pentagon barely scratched the surface of the financial costs of U.S. wars since September 11, 2001 when it released its official estimate last August regarding how much the U.S. has spent on fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and elsewhere.

The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs reports (pdf) that by the end of the 2019 fiscal year, the U.S. will have spent $5.9 trillion on military spending in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and other countries, as well as veterans’ care, interest on debt payments, and related spending at the Homeland Security and State Departments. Continue reading →

‘Bolton Gonna Bolton’: Trump’s National Security Adviser Pushing to Ditch Nuclear Arms Treaty With Russia

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Critics warn that “withdrawal would be stupid and reckless.”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 10-19-2018

President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton is reportedly seeking to ditch a Cold War-era treaty with Russia focusing on nuclear arms control. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/flickr/cc)

President Donald Trump’s notorious warmonger of a national security adviser, John Bolton, reportedly “is pushing for the U.S. to withdraw from a Cold War-era arms control treaty with Russia,” a move that critics denounced as a “stupid and reckless” mistake that would fuel nuclear weapons production, alienate allies, and increase the threat of conflict.

Despite resistance within the administration and from key allies abroad, Bolton wants the United States to bail on the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF) on the grounds that Russia is violating the agreement, sources briefed on the effort told the Guardian. Continue reading →

For Next Weapon in Anti-Protest Arsenal, US Military Building Plasma Gun Capable of Vaporizing Human Flesh

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At its highest setting, the new laser weapon would painfully vaporize the outer layer of skin from 100 meters away. Also, this so-called “non-lethal” weapon can kill people.

By Jon Queally, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 10-18-2018

Beyond NoDAPL March on Washington, DC. Photo: Rob87438 [CC-BY-SA-4.0] via Wikimedia Commons

From wood batons to stun batons to water cannons to sound cannons to. . . frickin’ plasma lasers that can “vaporize” your skin?

Recent reporting out of the Pentagon reveals that the U.S. military is working on perfecting what they called a Scalable Compact Ultra-short Pulse Laser System (SCUPLS)—or plasma gun, for short—intended for mounting on a truck or a tank.

Billed as the military’s latest “crowd control” technology, what this has typically meant is a new “non-lethal” weapon designed for use by militaries or police forces against unruly demonstrators or those standing against powerful state actors or corporate forces. Continue reading →

Occupy World Writes

The Movement Continues – Globally

Tag Archives: Department of State

‘Bolton Gonna Bolton’: Trump’s National Security Adviser Pushing to Ditch Nuclear Arms Treaty With Russia

Critics warn that “withdrawal would be stupid and reckless.”

For Next Weapon in Anti-Protest Arsenal, US Military Building Plasma Gun Capable of Vaporizing Human Flesh

At its highest setting, the new laser weapon would painfully vaporize the outer layer of skin from 100 meters away. Also, this so-called “non-lethal” weapon can kill people.