Tag: Drones

Politics

Forget their Different Methods of Madness, ISIS and US Military Can Both be Brutal

Dr. Craig ConsidineLeave a comment

Don’t let the coverage of the media trick you into thinking that ISIS is somehow more brutal than the US military. Who cares about their different methods of madness, whether it’s an “execution style” gun to the head or a bomb which drops depleted uranium on civilians. All of these acts are outrageous. Both ISIS rebels and American military…… Continue reading Forget their Different Methods of Madness, ISIS and US Military Can Both be Brutal

Politics

Moral authority on the streets of Chicago to the tribal areas of Pakistan

Dr. Craig ConsidineLeave a comment

Gary Younge at the Guardian makes an important point in his recent article (“Barack Obama is pushing gun control at home, but he’s a killer abroad”): Over the last few weeks there has been a distinct incongruity – to say the least – between the agenda Obama is promoting at home and the one he…… Continue reading Moral authority on the streets of Chicago to the tribal areas of Pakistan

Politics

Politics: On these issues, there’s little difference between Obama and Bush

Dr. Craig ConsidineLeave a comment

Think back to the election of 2008. Do you remember how one candidate had it easy?  He had eight years of abject failure to run against.  Eight years that included the launching of two dismal wars, the creation of a torture gulag with its crown jewel at Guantánamo Bay, the ushering in of a program of robotic assassination missions and secret spying…… Continue reading Politics: On these issues, there’s little difference between Obama and Bush

Commentary · Politics

Who’s the Master of the Drone?

Dr. Craig ConsidineLeave a comment

One thing that I find puzzling is the notion that Obama ‘isn’t as bad as Bush’ when it comes to death, destruction, and the illegality of US foreign policy.  For me, when I indulge in such conversations to prove why Obama is actually quite similar to Bush in these regards, I tend to use the not so…… Continue reading Who’s the Master of the Drone?

Sociology

Fascinating and timely forthcoming book: ‘The Thistle and the Drone’ by Akbar Ahmed

Dr. Craig ConsidineLeave a comment

My intellectual/spiritual/academic mentor, Professor Akbar Ahmed, has done it again.  And it’s sheer brilliance! Brookings Institution Press has just released an e-mail highlighting their forthcoming Fall publications.  Showcased in this e-mail is Professor Ahmed’s latest book ‘The Thistle and the Drone: How America’s War on Terror Became a Global War on Tribal Islam’: The United…… Continue reading Fascinating and timely forthcoming book: ‘The Thistle and the Drone’ by Akbar Ahmed

Politics

A gross double-standard

Dr. Craig ConsidineLeave a comment

When Afghan or Pakistani civilians are murdered by drone strikes, US bangs on about ‘collateral damage’, but when Syrian civilians are murdered by Assad regime/militias, US cries about ‘war crimes’. Let’s not forget that a war crime is a war crime is a war crime, regardless of the context in which war crimes are committed.…… Continue reading A gross double-standard

Commentary

Drones over the ‘suspected militants’ in Pakistan

Dr. Craig ConsidineLeave a comment

According to the BBC, a US drone strike has killed at least eight people in a volatile tribal area of north-west Pakistan.  This is the second strike in the area in 24 hours. At least four suspected militants were killed on Wednesday. US drone strikes in Pakistan are highly controversial.  Are they legal?  What about the…… Continue reading Drones over the ‘suspected militants’ in Pakistan