[haw-info] HAW Notes 4/28/11: Links to recent articles of interest, including Guantanamo resources

In this mailing our normal listing of recent on-line articles of interest is followed by a special set of resources relating to the WikiLeaks release of formerly secret US government documents on the Guantánamo Bay prison camp.

Thanks to Carolyn (Rusti) Eisenberg, Maia Ramnath, Sam Lowe, Rosalyn Baxandall, and Peter Kuznick for suggesting articles that are included in the following lists.  Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.

Links to Recent Articles of Interest

"Japan, the Atomic Bomb, and the 'Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Power'"
http://www.japanfocus.org/-Yuki-TANAKA/3521
By Yuki Tanaka and Peter Kuznick, Asia-Pacific Journal, May 2 issue
Peter Kuznick teaches history at American University

"An Arab Spring for Women: The Missing Story from the Middle East"
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175384
By Juan Cole and Shahin Cole, TomDispatch.com, posted April 26
Juan Cole teaches history at the University of Michigan

"Did Obama's Election Kill the Antiwar Movement?"
http://www.counterpunch.org/umich04252011.html
By University of Michigan News Service, CounterPunch.org, posted April 25

"Small Islets, Enduring conflict: Dokdo, Korea-Japan Colonial Legacy and the United States"
http://japanfocus.org/-Mark-Selden/3520
By Mark Selden, Asia-Pacific Journal, April 25 issue

"Washington on the Rocks: An Empire of Autocrats, Aristocrats, and Uniformed Thugs Begins to Totter"
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175383
By Alfred McCoy and Brett Reilly, TomDispatch.com, posted April 24
Alfred McCoy teaches history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Brett Reilly is a history graduate student there

"Is the World Too Big to Fail? The Contours of World Order"
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175382
By Noam Chomsky, TomDispatch.com, posted April 21

"Sleepwalking into the Imperial Dark: What It Feels Like When a Superpower Runs Off the Tracks"
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175381
By Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, posted April 19

"Review of Tim Bird and Alex Marshall's Afghanistan: How the West Lost Its Way"
http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/138249.html
By Jeremy Kuzmarov, History News Network, posted April 18
The author teaches history at the University of Tulsa

"Don't Betray Us, Barack - End the Empire"
http://www.newstatesman.com/north-america/2011/04/afghanistan-obama-gorbachev
By Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, New Statesman, posted April 14
On lessons from Kennedy and Gorbachev; Peter Kuznick teaches history at American University


WikiLeaks on Guantánamo

"The Guantánamo Files" (the documents)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/guantanamo-files

"What Are the Guantánamo Files? Understanding the Prisoner Dossiers"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/25/what-are-guantanamo-files-explained
By David Leigh, The Guardian, posted April 25

"WikiLeaks: The Uses of Guantánamo"
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2011/04/wikileaks-the-uses-of-guantanamo.html
By Amy Davidson, The New Yorker blog, posted April 25

"WikiLeaks: Just Eight at Guantánamo Gave Evidence Against 255 Others"
http://www.truthout.com/wikileaks-just-eight-gitmo-gave-evidence-against-255-others/1303841535
By Tom Lasseter and Carol Rosenberg, Truthout.com, posted April 26

"The Hidden Horrors of WikiLeaks' Guantánamo Files"
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/27
By Andy Worthington, CommonDreams.org, posted April 28

[haw-info] anti-drone rally Friday, April 22 at Hancock Air Force Base near Syracuse

 

The following announcement, meant especially for members and friends of Historians Against the War who live in the Northeast, is sent on behalf of James Swarts, an Upstate New York historian and activist and member of the HAW Steering Committee.  HAW is among the sponsors of the April 22 rally.

 

 

The Upstate New York Coalition to Ground the Drones & End the Wars is planning a series of events next week climaxing in a 3pm anti-drone rally on Friday, April 22 at Hancock Air Force Base, near Syracuse.  Information, including maps, directions, and contact information, is at http://upstatedroneaction.peaceworksrochester.org/.

 

Why Friday, April 22?
Friday, April 22 is Good Friday. It is Earth Day. It falls on Jumuah, the Muslim day of Worship, and during Passover.
Friday April 22 is a work day, a holiday, a day of commemoration and a special day of contemplation.

Why Protest?
Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used by the military for surveillance, targeted assassinations, and bombings. Drones used in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Yemen have killed hundreds of innocent civilians. Drones violate international and U.S. law on political assassinations. Intelligence used in drone target selection is notoriously unreliable. Domestic Drone use has begun on U.S./Canadian/ and U.S. /Mexican borders.

Hancock Air National Guard Base is a drone center, and if Sen. Schumer has his way, drone activity will increase. Currently operations include missions in Afghanistan as well as operator training, and maintenance of Reaper Drones. Accidents could occur in civilian air space, and the operation also brings Syracuse into "the War on Terror," making it a potential target. The jobs generated are few, and drone operators suffer high rates of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

I hope to meet up with many fellow HAW members at Hancock Field on Good Friday, 22 April 2011.

 

Peace,
James (Jim) Swarts

 

Sponsors: Brooklyn for Peace, Broome County Peace Action, The Buffalo Interfaith Network, Fellowship of Reconciliation, The Gandhi Institute, Historians Against War (HAW), Ithaca Catholic Worker, Metro Justice Peace Action and Education, New York State Direct Action For Peace, Peace Action of Central New York, The Peace Education Project of Buffalo, Peace Now Ithaca, Progressives In Action, Rochester Against War, ScarfsForPeace, Slocum House, Syracuse Peace Council, The Upstate AntiWar Network, Veterans for Peace: Buffalo Chapter 128, Ithaca Chapter 038, NYC Chapter 034, Woodstock Chapter 058, Vietnam Veterans Against the War – Ithaca, Western NY Peace Center, World Can't Wait.

[haw-info] HAW Notes 4/14/11: Links to recent articles of interest

Suggestions for these more-or-less biweekly lists can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.  Thanks to Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Mim Jackson, Sam Lowe, Stuart Schaar, and Rusti Eisenberg for suggesting articles that are included in the following list.


"Not Why But How: To the Shores of (and the Skies above) Tripoli"
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175378
By Andrew J. Bacevich, Tom Dispatch.com, posted April 12
The author teaches history and international relations at Boston University

"The Success of Revolutions That Do Not Succeed"
http://counterpunch.org/prashad04082011.html
By Vijay Prashad, CounterPunch.org, posted April 8
The author teaches history at Trinity College

"Morocco: Can Dinosaurs Become Butterflies?"
http://www.indypendent.org/2011/04/05/can-dinosaurs-become-butterflies
By Stuart Schaar, The Indypendent, posted April 6
The author is a professor emeritus of Middle East and North African history at Brooklyn College

"The Censored War and You"
http://original.antiwar.com/vlahos/2011/04/04/the-censored-war-and-you
By Kelley B. Vlahos, antiwar.com, posted April 5
Compares coverage of the Vietnam and Afghanistan wars

"100 Years of Bombing Libya: The Forgotten Fascist Roots of Humanitarian Interventionism"
http://www.counterpunch.org/almond04052011.html
By Mark Almond, CounterPunch.org, posted April 5

"Japan, Europe and the Dangerous Fantasy of American Leadership"
http://japanfocus.org/-Karel_van-Wolferen/3507
By Karel van Wolferen, Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, posted April 4

"Last Act in the Middle East"
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/04/03/last-act-in-the-mideast.html
By Andrew J. Bacevich, Newsweek, posted April 3

"A Matter of Empire"
http://counterpunch.org/mayer04012011.html
By Arno J. Mayer, CounterPunch, posted April 1
The author is an emeritus professor of history at Princeton University

"Response to Juan Cole on Libya"
http://www.ips-dc.org/articles/response_to_juan_cole_on_libya
By Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies, posted April 1

"The Dangerous US Game in Yemen"
http://thenation.com/article/159578/dangerous-us-game-yemen
By Jeremy Scahill, The Nation, posted March 30
Has much historical background