{"id":10579,"date":"2013-06-11T10:02:40","date_gmt":"2013-06-11T10:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:#clients.elainemichele.com\/SPC2022\/?p=10579"},"modified":"2022-11-12T18:06:54","modified_gmt":"2022-11-12T23:06:54","slug":"war_update_579","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/clients.elainemichele.com\/SPC2022\/articles\/war_update_579\/","title":{"rendered":"War Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bahrain:<\/b> The government canceled a scheduled visit from UN Special Rapporteur on torture for the second time[i]<\/a>, while massive protests demanding political reform have continued since January 2011. The government crackdown killed 87 people and included mass detention, tear gassing of entire towns, and torture[ii]<\/a>. The repressive forces are largely imported, recruited to act with less regard for the population and to prevent a military uprising[iii]<\/a>. Some units were provided by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states; all close allies of Washington[iv]<\/a>. Despite the protestors\u2019 call for the US to stop arming the GCC states and Bahrain[v]<\/a>, they still receive US arms and tear gas. In February the Bahraini government hired John Timoney to train Bahraini security forces. Timoney has a history of abuse as a police chief and adviser in the US[vi]<\/a>. On May 6 the US began conducting naval exercises from its base in Bahrain[vii]<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n

Syria:<\/b> 300 people died on May 4 and 5 when Israel conducted air strikes against Syrian facilities[viii]<\/a>. The US has deployed 200 troops to Jordan to prepare for the possible invasion of Syria[ix]<\/a>. The US has approved an additional 123 million in direct aid to the armed opposition[x]<\/a> and 100 million in humanitarian aid[xi]<\/a> to support the Al Qaeda linked opposition group Jabhat al-Nursa[xii]<\/a>. The UN has gathered evidence that the rebels have used chemical weapons[xiii]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Guatemala:<\/b> Although a Guatemalan court convicted former dictator Efrain Rios Montt of genocide against the Ixil people[xiv]<\/a>, it was overturned. The 30 years of State repression killed 200,000[xv]<\/a> supported by US arms, dollars, and advisers. The U.N. said state forces were responsible for 93% of the deaths[xvi]<\/a>. The US provided over 26 million in military aid to the Guatemalan government in 2012[xvii]<\/a> to fight the war on drugs. The Guatemalan military, paramilitary, and police forces have engaged in extra-judicial killings, extortion, drug running, torture, rape[xviii]<\/a>, and displacement of indigenous peoples[xix]<\/a>. Witnesses in the Montt trial accused the president of Guatemala, Otto Perez Molina, of crimes against humanity while he was a general during the genocide [xx]<\/a>. 2011 elections were compromised by fraud, killings, kidnappings, and bribery[xxi]<\/a>. In this context of cronyism, multinationals seek to exploit Guatemala’s vast resources, causing environmental destruction and indigenous displacement.<\/p>\n


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[i]<\/a>               http:\/\/www.bahrainrights.org\/en\/node\/5720<\/p>\n

[ii]<\/a>               http:\/\/bahrainrights.hopto.org\/BCHR\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Second-Anniversary-Report-Published.pdf<\/p>\n

[iii]<\/a>          https:\/\/witnessbahrain.org\/background-facts-on-bahrain\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[iv]<\/a>              http:\/\/www.defense.gov\/news\/newsarticle.aspx?id=119050<\/p>\n

[v]<\/a>               http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/06\/24\/world\/middleeast\/as-hopes-for-reform-fade-in-bahrain-protesters-turn-anger-on-united-states.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&<\/p>\n

[vi]<\/a>              http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/world\/2012\/feb\/16\/john-timoney-police-chief-bahrain-protests<\/p>\n

[vii]<\/a>         http:\/\/www.jewishpress.com\/news\/bahrain-u-s-stop-interference-dont-meet-with-opposition\/2013\/05\/07\/<\/p>\n

[viii]<\/a>             http:\/\/rt.com\/news\/damascus-syria-explosions-sunday-831\/<\/p>\n

[ix]<\/a>          http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/news\/nationworld\/world\/middleeast\/la-fg-us-jordan-troops-20130418,0,7018059.story<\/p>\n

[x]<\/a>           http:\/\/rt.com\/news\/friends-syria-istanbul-us-152\/<\/p>\n

[xi]<\/a>              http:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/544911\/u-s-to-offer-100-million-in-new-humanitarian-aid-for-syria-official\/<\/p>\n

[xii]<\/a>             http:\/\/nsnbc.me\/2013\/04\/18\/us-troops-stage-in-jordan-to-defend-al-qaeda-in-syria\/<\/p>\n

[xiii]<\/a>             http:\/\/landdestroyer.blogspot.com\/2013\/05\/in-wake-of-us-israeli-attack-on-syria.html<\/p>\n

[xiv]<\/a>             http:\/\/www.economist.com\/news\/americas\/21578072-former-dictators-conviction-may-not-be-end-tragic-story-genocide-question\/print<\/p>\n

[xv]<\/a>             http:\/\/thirdworldtraveler.com\/US_ThirdWorld\/US_Guat.html<\/p>\n

[xvi]<\/a>             http:\/\/rightsaction.org\/action-content\/guatemalan-president-otto-molina-perez-named-intellectual-author-genocide<\/p>\n

[xvii]<\/a>            http:\/\/justf.org\/Country?country=Guatemala&year1=2009&year2=2014<\/p>\n

[xviii]<\/a>           http:\/\/www.hrw.org\/world-report-2010\/guatemala<\/p>\n

[xix]<\/a>             http:\/\/upsidedownworld.org\/main\/guatemala-archives-33\/3823-guatemala-the-spoils-of-an-undeclared-war<\/p>\n

[xx]<\/a>             http:\/\/rightsaction.org\/action-content\/guatemalan-president-otto-molina-perez-named-intellectual-author-genocide<\/p>\n

[xxi]<\/a>             http:\/\/rightsaction.org\/action-content\/guatemala-elections-and-still-no-democracy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bahrain: The government canceled a scheduled visit from UN Special Rapporteur on torture for the second time[i], while massive protests demanding political reform have continued since January 2011. The government crackdown killed 87 people and included mass detention, tear gassing of entire towns, and torture[ii]. The repressive forces are largely…<\/p>\n

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