Feature Archives

On January 30th, Bush ordered on a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf region, raising the US naval presence in the region to its highest level since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. A U.S. buildup for war against Iran may currently be underway. President Bush has ordered the US military to "seek out and destroy" Iranian networks in Iraq, and confirmed last week that he has authorized American troops to capture or kill "Iranian agents". The chief accusation being levelled against the Iranian regime is that its agents are supporting and arming Shiite militias inside Iraq to attack US troops—a charge that has yet to be substantiated with concrete evidence. The US, on the other hand, is confirmed to have armed the main Shia militia group, the Badr Brigade, through arms transfers to the Iraqi army.

US policy towards Iran may also be shaping US policy towards the Palestinans, with some seeing the current fighting between Fatah and Hamas in Gaza as part of the US's larger policy against Iran.

In the past week, fighting between Hamas and Fatah has left more than 32 people dead and many more injured, bloody clashes that have pushed Palestinians one step closer to the brink of a civil war between Abbas and his Fatah faction on the one hand, and the Hamas-led government on the other.

Palestine has become another front in the Bush administration's Cold War against "Islamofascism." Mahmoud Abbas and Gaza warlord Muhammad Dahlan have become the willing proxies for the Palestine franchise of this wider project. Since October, eight truckloads of AK-47 rifles and machine guns and several million rounds of ammunition have entered Gaza from Israel. Abbas' Presidential Guard has also attacks against he Islamic University in Gaza, shelling, burning and destroying parts of it.

Conscientious objector Spc. Agustin Aguayo will enter a plea February 2nd and begin trial March 6th in Wurzburg, Germany. So ordered a military judge on January 25th. Charges against Aguayo include desertion which carries a possible penalty of seven years. The Army is proceeding with this court martial despite precedents which give regular federal courts jurisdiction over CO cases and despite an appeal Agustin has pending before the D.C. Circuit Court.
Latest pretrial negotiations.

Hugo Chávez was re-inaugurated as Venezuela’s President for a six-year term on January 10, after soundly winning a December 3 election with 63% of the vote. His regime first came to power in 1998, and he has consistently made efforts to use oil profits to better the lot of the Venezuelan poor and working class, while forging links with other left-wing Latin American governments. In a January 8 speech, he announced that he will nationalize electrical and telecommunications businesses.

On Wednesday, January 10, George Bush gave a "major policy address" announcing an increase in US troop levels in Iraq. He said he "took responsibility" for past mistakes but that more troops are needed to pacify Baghdad and other parts of the country. The President also threatened military action against Iran and Syria. The first wave of additional troops has already begun deploying to the region, and a total of six brigades will be ordered all together, five into the city of Baghdad and one into Anbar Province, center of the Sunni insurgency against the US occupation. Bush has also sent an additional aircraft carrier task force into the Persian Gulf.

On January 8th, Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian arrived in San Francisco. Many from the American Chinese community turned out in front of the St. Regis Hotel to greet Chen's motorcade. The turnout of Chen loyalists and opponents appeared equally divided. Supporters wore the green of Chen's DPP political party; opponents the traditional Chinese red. His opponents, composed of Taiwanese and mainland immigrants who wish to see the eventual reunification of Taiwan with the mainland drew the most attention from passerbys and the Chinese media with their cries denouncing Chen. They were especially critical of the corruption charges that Chen has been able to narrowly elude to date.
Photos

On January 7th, the US launched a pair of air strikes on Somalia. The strikes come just weeks after U.S.-backed Ethiopian forces invaded Somalia and overthrew the Union of Islamic Courts. The attack is the first overt U.S. military action in Somalia since American troops departed the country in 1993 following the infamous "Black Hawk Down" episode. Reports have also emerged that suggest U.S. Special Forces and CIA paramilitary teams are now directly embedded with Ethiopian forces in Somalia.