Osama Bin Laden and the legacy of the ‘war on terrorism’

The following commentary by Kosta Harlan is from Fight Back! News:

As the news of Osama Bin Laden’s killing by U.S. forces inside Pakistan reverberates across the world, it is a good time to take stock of the ‘war on terror’ and what it has brought to the world.

Ten years of the “war on terror”

Just days after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, President George W. Bush stated, “This crusade – this war on terrorism – is going to take a while, […] And the American people must be patient. I’m going to be patient. But I can assure the American people I am determined.”

A few days later, Bush said, “Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”

With uprising in Egypt, national liberation struggles intensify in the Middle East

Chicago protest in solidarity with people of Egypt (Fight Back! News/Chapin Gray)

The following analysis by Kosta Harlan is from Fight Back! News:

History is unfolding before our eyes in Egypt this week, as millions of Egyptians take to the streets to demand the ouster of Hosni Mubarak and fundamental democratic reforms. The future is unwritten, but there is no doubt that the Jan. 25 movement marks a turning point in the struggle for national liberation in the Middle East. For what the Egyptian people are proving as they march through the streets demanding justice and pushing back against police forces wielding tear gas and live ammunition, is that the people are stronger than their oppressors.

Kosta Harlan of Freedom Road on building movement against FBI and Grand Jury repression

The following talk by Kosta Harlan of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization is from the regional conference of Workers World Party that took place recently in Durham, North Carolina:

For more info see StopFBI.net

10 NATO troops killed in Afghanistan, U.S. occupation crumbling

The following article by Kosta Harlan is from Fight Back! News:

Ten NATO occupation soldiers were killed by Afghan resistance forces on June 7, marking the deadliest day on record for the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan. Seven of those killed were U.S. soldiers. NATO reported that five troops were killed in an insurgent attack against a police training center, two soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing attack and one in a small arms attack. One day earlier, June 6, five NATO troops were killed in small arms fire attacks, a roadside bombing and a car crash. It is unclear if the car crash was related to a resistance attack.

Afghan civilians in bus gunned down by U.S. troops

Afghan police and onlookers gather around a bus which was fired upon by foreign forces in Kandahar April 12, 2010. Foreign forces opened fire on a passenger bus in southern Afghanistan on Monday, killing four civilians and wounding 18 others, a provincial official said. (REUTERS/Ahmad Nadeem)

The following article by Kosta Harlan is from Fight Back! News:

Kandahar, Afghanistan – In the early morning hours of April 12, U.S. troops fired on a bus in Kandahar, Afghanistan, killing five civilians and wounding 18 more. The driver of the bus, Esmate, said, “They opened fire at us and I fell unconscious. The people who were killed were sitting in the seats just behind me.”

Another witness, Gul Mohammad, stated that the U.S. troops “opened fire for no reason.” A woman and a child were among those killed, according to local authorities.

Afghanistan: U.S. military covered up murders of Afghan civilians, investigation shows

U.S. soldiers shoot at Afghans during Operation Mostarak in Badula Qulp, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 19, 2010. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Efren Lopez/Released)

The following article by Kosta Harlan is from Fight Back! News:

An investigation into the killings of five Afghan civilians by U.S. forces on Feb. 12 has revealed that the U.S. tried to cover up its responsibility for the deaths.

On the night of Feb. 12, U.S. occupation forces entered a home in the Gardez district of Paktia province, east of the capital Kabul. The U.S. soldiers shot dead two Afghan men who were carrying weapons, then shot three pregnant women. The Afghans had been celebrating the birth of a baby. The U.S. initially claimed that the two men were Taliban fighters and that the three women were already dead when they arrived on the scene. In fact, the two men were a local police chief and a prosecutor.

Leaked video shows U.S. military murdering over one dozen Iraqis

The men try to cover as the first rounds of shots hit them from the Apache helicopter. (WikiLeaks.org)

The following article is from Fight Back! News:

Leaked video shows U.S. military murdering over one dozen Iraqis
Reuters journalists and children among the dead and wounded
By Kosta Harlan | April 5, 2010

The organization WikiLeaks released a leaked video today showing footage of U.S. soldiers indiscriminately gunning down Iraqis from an Apache helicopter gunship. In the video, U.S. soldiers are heard laughing while shooting down over a dozen Iraqis, including two Reuters journalists. After the initial shootings, a van stops by to pick up one of the survivors who is crawling away. As Iraqis load the wounded man into the van, the U.S. soldiers open fire again, killing more Iraqis and wounding two young children who were inside the vehicle.

Thousands rally in D.C. to protest occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq

About one hundred students joined the contingent of Students for a Democratic Society. Chapters from Washington D.C., Rochester, NY, Chapel Hill, NC, Asheville, NC, Gainesville, FL, and other cities participated in the contingent.

The following article from Fight Back! News is by Kosta Harlan. The photos are from the related Fight Back! photo essay.

Washington, D.C. – About ten thousand demonstrators filled Lafayette Park across from the White House to demand an end to the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. March 20 marked the seventh anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, while the occupation of Afghanistan is now in its eighth year. A broad range of organizations mobilized for the demonstration, organized by the International ANSWER coalition. Military veterans, student groups, trade unions, Arab American organizations, church congregations, and many other groups brought thousands of people into D.C. for the rally. 

Iraq: Elections under the barrel of the occupier’s gun

The following analysis by Kosta Harlan is from Fight Back! News:

Parliamentary elections took place in occupied Iraq on March 8 as rockets and mortars slammed into the Green Zone and U.S. military bases across the country. The U.S. government and its allies in occupied Iraq have hailed the election as a victory for democracy (Newsweek went so far as to write “Victory at last” across the cover of their latest issue), but the reality is anything but. The elections are nothing but a continuation of the same illegal, unjust occupation political process that began when the U.S. invaded and overthrew the anti-imperialist Iraqi government in 2003. The latest election only serves to consolidate the existence of a puppet regime loyal to the U.S. occupation.

Iran celebrates 31 years of sovereignty

Millions demonstrate in Tehran to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the revolution that ousted the U.S.-backed monarchy.

The following article is from Fight Back! News:

Iran celebrates 31 years of sovereignty
By Kosta Harlan February 12, 2010
Read more articles in Iran

Tehran, Iran – Millions of Iranians rallied on Feb. 11 to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the revolution that overthrew the hated U.S.-backed Pahlavi monarchy. In Tehran a massive crowd of 5 million took to the streets, while rallies were held in 800 other cities around the country.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaee, commented that the enormous demonstrations showed “the nation’s determination in maintaining national unity…in the realization of political, economic and social developments and particularly in advancing civilian nuclear technology.” Addressing the propaganda in Western media that attempts to show the Iranian government as unpopular or weakened by the opposition movement, Khazaee said, “The Islamic Republic has now become a powerful and strategic country, where people enjoy a strong sense of unity and solidarity. It is a fact that Western powers must learn to deal with.”