Militarized Police: SWAT Teams Used 50,000 Times Annually in US

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Militarized Police: SWAT Teams Used 50,000 Times Annually in US

Sharia Adherence: Baptist University drops ‘Crusaders’ nickname from its sports teams so it doesn’t offend ‘Global Society’ aka Islamists

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Sharia Adherence: Baptist University drops ‘Crusaders’ nickname from its sports teams so it doesn’t offend ‘Global Society’ aka Islamists

US Teams Up With Japan to Spy on China With Global Hawk Drones

The U.S. has just announced a deal with Japan that will allow basing rights for surveillance drones. Oh and the Pentagon swears their purpose is to surveil North Korea. Really, they promise. China? What’s a China?

“The primary mission for the Global Hawks will be to fly near North Korea, where U.S. officials hope they will greatly enhance the current spying capabilities,” reports the Washington Post. Maybe – perhaps – an unintended side benefit to the drone missions will be to coordinate with Japan on “ the movements of Chinese ships in the vicinity.”

You can bet Beijing won’t see North Korea as the primary target for the U.S. spy drones. In recent weeks, the Japanese Defense Ministry has indicated a strong interest in obtaining drones for themselves in order to spy on and respond to Chinese military movements in and around the disputed maritime territory of the Senkaku/Diayou islands, currently the most intense point of tension between Japan and China.

Immediately following these indications, Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel visit with their Japanese counterparts and secure a deal to allow the U.S. to base its own drones on Japanese territory and take care Japanese defense for them. It’s a win for the U.S. in that it mitigates the Japanese desire to obtain its own drones, a privileged capability that gives the U.S. an edge, and it maintains U.S. military autonomy in Japan at a time when tensions with China have influenced Tokyo towards beefing up its long-dormant national security state.

But it’s not exactly a win for regional security. The U.S. has been antagonizing China by militarily encircling the rising Asian power and reaffirming defense agreements with all of China’s neighboring rivals, Japan foremost among them. A new scheme to increase spying on Chinese military movements in its own backyard is not going to go over well with Beijing.

“The presence of Global Hawks in East Asia is sure to irritate China, which has become increasingly vocal in pushing back against the U.S. military presence in the region,” the  Washington Post reports. “Officials in Beijing had criticized Tokyo in recent days for reports that the Japanese military was considering acquiring its own Global Hawks, saying the introduction of the drones could escalate tensions.”

U.S. policy could easily exacerbate Sino-Japanese tensions and prompt a very dangerous escalation. “My biggest fear is that a small mishap is going to blow up into something much bigger,” says Elizabeth C. Economy of the Council on Foreign Relations.

“If there is a use of force between Japan and China,” warns Sheila A. Smith, also of CFR, “this could be all-out conflict between these two Asian giants. And as a treaty ally of Japan, it will automatically involve the United States.”

And for what? To contain China’s increasing global power? The U.S. can’t stop that train, which is fueled by their growing economy and increased defense budgets, short of all-out war.

Really, the U.S. should just mind its own business instead of trying to dictate China’s behavior in a desperate attempt to hold on to world hegemony.

Micah Zenko, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, provides the following anecdote to sum up the hypcritical U.S. position on China:

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel declared at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore earlier this year, “The United States stands firmly against any coercive attempts to alter the status quo.” Similarly, Hagel’s deputy, Ashton Carter, noted in reference to the Asia-Pacific, “We oppose provocation. We oppose coercion. We oppose the use of force,” adding a U.S. preference for “peaceful resolution of disputes in a manner consistent with international law.” Of course, resorting to coercion and the use of force to change the status quo are defining characteristics of U.S. foreign policy, and — as the reactions to Syria demonstrate — they are widely embraced among pundits and officials. The defining questions of East Asian relations in the coming decades is whether China emulates the U.S. military by embracing coercion, or follows U.S. guidelines as to how local disputes should be resolved.

Do as we see, not as we do. Follow our orders, or prepare for aggression.

Not exactly a constructive approach.

Antiwar.com Blog

US Teams Up With Japan to Spy on China With Global Hawk Drones

Israel and Palestinian teams leave for US talks

FILE – In this May 25, 2006 file photo, an Israeli with a flag on his back takes a picture of Arab residents as they are being prevented by police to cross the road around Jerusalem’s Old City, in the Muslim quarter, during the Israeli celebration of the Jerusalem Day. The U.S. on Sunday, July 28, 2013 announced the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks following years of stalemate, after Israel’s Cabinet agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners convicted of deadly attacks. The return to direct contacts between the sides gave U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry his first concrete achievement after months of shuttle diplomacy. (AP Photo/Enric Marti, File)

FILE – In this May 25, 2006 file photo, an Israeli with a flag on his back takes a picture of Arab residents as they are being prevented by police to cross the road around Jerusalem’s Old City, in the Muslim quarter, during the Israeli celebration of the Jerusalem Day. The U.S. on Sunday, July 28, 2013 announced the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks following years of stalemate, after Israel’s Cabinet agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners convicted of deadly attacks. The return to direct contacts between the sides gave U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry his first concrete achievement after months of shuttle diplomacy. (AP Photo/Enric Marti, File)

FILE – In this May 8, 2013 file photo Israelis and Palestinians wave flags as Israelis march celebrating Jerusalem Day outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s old city. The U.S. on Sunday, July 29 announced the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks following years of stalemate, after Israel’s Cabinet agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners convicted of deadly attacks. The return to direct contacts between the sides gave U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry his first concrete achievement after months of shuttle diplomacy. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, File)

FILE – In this Dec. 14, 2007 file photo, a Palestinian man argues with an Israeli soldier during a demonstration against Israel’s separation barrier at the village of Bilin, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. The U.S. on Sunday, July 28, 2013 announced the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks following years of stalemate, after Israel’s Cabinet agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners convicted of deadly attacks. The return to direct contacts between the sides gave U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry his first concrete achievement after months of shuttle diplomacy. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, File)

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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli and Palestinian teams headed to Washington on Monday for preliminary talks on resuming formal negotiations after five years of stalemate.

Both sides emphasized that many obstacles stand between them and a final deal on setting up a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Talks will be complex, said Israel’s chief negotiator, Tzipi Livni. She said she was heading to the Washington meetings, which are to begin later Monday, “cautiously, but also with hope.”

Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian spokeswoman, said the upcoming talks are being held under more difficult conditions than previous negotiations. She cited the Palestinian political split, with Western-backed moderates and Islamic militants running rival governments, and the more hawkish positions of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, compared to his predecessor.

“But I think there is a recognition of the urgency,” she said. “If we don’t move fast and decisively, things could fall apart.”

The preliminary talks in Washington were made possible after Israel’s Cabinet on Sunday agreed in principle to release 104 long-held Palestinian prisoners, convicted of offenses including the killing or wounding of Israelis and the killing of suspected Palestinian collaborators.

The prisoners are to be released in four stages, with each release linked to progress in negotiations.

The resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian contacts was a result of six months of shuttle diplomacy by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Associated Press

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Israel and Palestinian teams leave for US talks