Obama Lawyers Said Arming Syrian Rebels Would Be Illegal, Prompt War

Obama Lawyers Said Arming Syrian Rebels Would Be Illegal, Prompt War

John Glaser, July 15, 2013

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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that legal advisers to President Obama have warned him since the beginning that aiding the Syrian rebels probably violated international law and risked a direct conflict with the Assad regime.

Members of the so-called Lawyers Group of top legal advisers from across the administration argued that Mr. Obama risked violating international law and giving Syrian President Bashar al-Assad the legal grounds—and motivation—to retaliate against Americans, said current and former officials.
The group’s arguments in part help explain why the White House agonized over Syria intervention and why Mr. Obama eventually opted to provide military aid to the rebels covertly through the Central Intelligence Agency, to help mitigate the legal risks and keep the U.S.’s profile low.

Two things are important here. First, this is a case in point for anyone who wonders whether the federal government is guided by the rule of law or operates on the basis of perceived interests. As can be consistently demonstrated throughout U.S. history, even if it’s illegal, the Executive Branch (which has usurped essentially all of the governments war-making powers) will still do it if they want to.
The second important thing to note is something I’ve argued before – namely that the government keeps secret those policies that would otherwise be subject to the law. As in the drone war, the administration knew very well that some judge could find what they’re doing to be criminal. Therefore, the administration classifies the program and blocks any attempt at judicial scrutiny on the basis of national security.
According to the WSJ, Obama’s lawyers were able to exploit what they saw as a loophole. Obama recently announced plans to begin direct arming of the Syrian rebels (as opposed to merely indirect arming, through Saudi Arabia and Qatar). The WSJ reveals what was behind that decision, explaining that Obama’s lawyers decided to exploit what they view as a loophole, taking the position that the aid would be acceptable under domestic U.S. law but not international law.
But for a long time this group of lawyers “parr[ied] calls for more assertive U.S. action by citing the risks of skirting international law, triggering a shooting war and setting legal precedents that could be cited by other countries, such as Russia and China.”
WSJ continues:

Some of the lawyers involved were uncomfortable with what they saw as a policy that could be seen as similar to the Reagan administration’s backing of Nicaragua’s Contra guerrillas in the 1980s.
Some of them cited a 1986 decision from the International Court of Justice on the American role in Nicaragua that said the U.S. was in “breach of its obligation under customary international law not to intervene in the affairs of another state.”

In that case, Reagan flagrantly dismissed the findings of the International Court of Justice that found America was acting criminally in Nicaragua. One thing that certainly hasn’t changed since 1986 is that America’s presidential administrations don’t submit themselves to the law. And Obama is dutifully following in that tradition.
See here for my latest piece in The Washington Times on how the flow of U.S. weapons into Syria  are getting into the hands of both pro-Assad militias and anti-Assad jihadist extremists.

The Strategic Role of 9/11: Al Qaeda and the Pentagon’s Global Military Offensive

The Strategic Role of 9/11: Al Qaeda and the Pentagon’s Global Military Offensive

By Rick Rozoff and John Robles

Global Research, September 14, 2013

Voice of Russia and Stop NATO

Region: USA

Theme: 9/11 & 'War on Terrorism', US NATO War Agenda

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Most people in the world remember the September 11, 2001 attacks very clearly.
It was a day when the world changed for the worse, when the world was terrorized and outraged by one of the single worst events in world history. Twelve years later no one has been prosecuted for the event and the world now knows that those events served as a catalyst and pretext for endless wars of aggression and domination against any country not under control of the United States.
By attempting to convince the public that every independent, and even Russian leaning country, is somehow connected to terrorism the US has managed to launch wars of aggression against countries that never posed it a threat. The world has grown weary of American aggression. One man who has fought the military expansion of NATO and the US for decades, Voice of Russia regular Rick Rozoff, helped put the events into perspective as the US attempts to engage in yet another war of aggression.
 Hello this is John Robles, I am speaking with Rick Rozoff, a regular contributor with the Voice of Russia World Service. We are speaking on the 12 year anniversary of the events of 9/11.
Robles:  It is 9/11 2013. In retrospect can you give us your views regarding those events and how they’ve changed the world and brought us to where we are today?
Rozoff: It is worth recalling that the initial report that many of us heard [on the morning of 9/11] was that somebody in a phone booth in the Persian Gulf claimed responsibility for the attacks and attributed them to the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is one of the three groups in the Palestine Liberation Organization, but one that has never employed hijacking of airplanes, much less terrorist activity.
So, I think that put things into perspective immediately for me. And then as the emotions started to die down a bit, and the sense of being stunned, I mean the spectacle, and the monstrous loss of life, and then the immediate fear, of course, that the wounded beast that was the Pentagon – Donald Rumsfeld at that time – would really wreak vengeance, not only on the alleged perpetrators of the attacks in Washington and New York, but on any number of other countries and in short order, if you recall, some of your listeners recall, that Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld identified, as I recollect, no fewer than 63 countries who he accused of either harboring terrorists or supporting terrorism.
In the words of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney and Rumsfeld and other members of the administration at that time, that to harbor terrorists was the same as to be a terrorist and you would be dealt with accordingly, and sweeping statements like “you are either with us or with the terrorists.” So, what we all feared I think shortly after the events of 9/11, even as they were occurring in fact, was that the US might exploit this as excuse to settle scores around the world, which in fact happened in short order to the point where even though those accused of perpetrating the attacks – largely Saudi nationals, we should mention, with a Yemeni or Egyptian thrown in for good measure – but ones who had lived for years in Germany and the United States, had gone to flight school in Florida, here, and so forth, apparently with complete impunity without any doubts arising in the mind of law enforcement agencies, if we are to believe the official account.
But even though they did not come from Iraq or Afghanistan or any of the other countries that have been attacked in the interim, under the pretext that we were combating the terrorism that led to the events of 9/11, we also have to remember that immediately the Bush administration started identifying as terrorists their political and ideological enemies during the Cold War.
So, there was everything from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the FARC rebels, in Colombia, to the New People’s Army in the Philippines, to the Kurdistan Workers Party in Turkey. These are left-wing, secular movements that were immediately identified as being terrorists, as though they had some connection with Al-Qaeda, which was ludicrous. But what was ignored from the very beginning was the fact that, if in fact there was a connection with Osama bin Laden, that the US bore direct responsibility for his arising to the level of the terrorist commando or chieftain they accused him of being, because he was one of an estimated 10,000 ethnic Arabs that with US and Saudi connivance, in the first place, were brought to northwestern Pakistan in the 1980s.
Robles: I’d like to just underline the fact that Osama bin Laden also went by the CIA code name of Tom Osman, he was actually a CIA agent.
Rozoff: That doesn’t surprise me in the least. He was one of 10,000 alleged Afghan Arabs, as the term was, training in US-supported training camps in northwestern Pakistan to be used against Soviet forces inside Afghanistan, but particularly against the government of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, which was a party of long standing, which had members in parliament for decades, prior to their coming to power in the April revolution of 1978.
But there would be no al-Qaeda, there would be no international movement, extremist terrorist network if the US had not connived with their two major military allies in the Islamic world – Pakistan and Saudi Arabia – that set it up; and to arm them, to train them, to put them into contact with each other in a global network. And even the name of the Islamic extremists armed group in the Philippines, the Abu Sayyaf group, has an Afghan connection as well.
So, the US is really at the genesis, was at the genesis of the creation of this international terrorist network. But another point that struck me at the time of 9/11 of 2001 was that there were only three countries at that time that recognized the originally Taliban government, I mean they didn’t have…weren’t represented at the United Nations, but the Taliban governing entity, whatever you want to call it, was only recognized by three governments.
Robles: That never stopped the United States, regarding being recognized in the United Nations. I’d like to recall Kosovo again.
Rozoff: Had they chosen to recognize them, when the rest of the world didn’t, that wouldn’t have been an impediment for the United States. But the three nations that in fact did recognize it, and had embassies in Kabul, were Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the two nations that worked most closely with the United States to foster the entire Mujahidin organization and movement and war, which in turn spawned the Taliban as surely as night follows day. And the United Arab Emirates.
So, what we have seen in the interim? That Pakistan is our major military ally in fighting terrorism in Afghanistan – I mean, please – that Saudi Arabia recently signed with the United States the largest bilateral arms deal in history, and that the United Arab Emirates has troops serving under NATO in Afghanistan. The United Arab Emirates has troops serving under NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. They supplied dozens of war planes two and a half years ago for the six-month air war against Libya, a secular Arab government.
And these again – Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan – are the three US military allies – pronounced – in the Islamic world, whereas they were the only three governments to formally recognize the Taliban in Afghanistan, but again I suppose people, assume Americans aren’t informed about international affairs and, if they are, that they quickly forget yesterday’s news.
So that the entire story about 9/11 has not properly been explored, and instead what we have heard I think are two alternate red herrings, one of them was the Donald Rumsfeld “we’ve got to drain the swamp.” We’ve got to eliminate terrorists bases throughout the world including in 63 countries and that led by the way to Rumsfeld setting up a train and equip program in the nation of Georgia where terrorists aided and abetted by the United States and its NATO allies were launching attacks into the Russian North Caucasus across the Pankisi Gorge and the Kodori Gorge. And that the Russian government was lodging complaint after complaint with the Georgian government about them, so Rumsfeld says: Well, in fact, yes, there are terrorists operating in North Georgia and attacking Russia, so we are going to set up at first with the Green Berets, and then with the US Marine Corps, what is now a permanent US military presence in Georgia, which was there of course during the five-day war, five years ago last month, when Georgia attacked South Ossetia and dragged Russia into the conflict.
But the other thing, I think, too, just to put it in perspective, 9/11 led to the US and NATO invasion of Afghanistan and spreading throughout the South and Central Asian region. And what we now have of course is the longest war in the history of the United States; it will be 12-years-old very shortly; its actually the thirteenth calendar year, which is longer than the war in Vietnam.
Robles: Let’s not forget Iraq and all the other humanitarian interventions.
Rozoff: Yes, then gave rise to subsequent wars, their drone missile campaigns in Yemen and Somali and Libya and Iraq and now Syria of course, and the invasion of Afghanistan was the opening salvo in that effort. too.
Really to put into practice, as we remembered 12 years ago, blueprints elaborated by organizations, like the Project for the New American Century, and others who had plotted to remake a New Middle East, a Broader Greater Middle East which would extend from Mauritania on the Atlantic Ocean to Kazakhstan on the Chinese border, and that is in fact what has happened. But as a result, we’ve seen the US and NATO bring over 150,000 troops into Afghanistan at the extreme under NATO command, under ISAF, International Security Assistance Force, which is substantially larger than the peak strength of Soviet troops during the 1980s.
And this is then of course is the longest war in the history of Afghanistan as well, and has led to the expansion of US and NATO military bases and presence in countries like Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan for a while. The effort by the United States and its NATO allies to ensconce themselves squarely in the convergence ground , if you will, of major powers in the area, especially those gathered under the umbrella of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization – Russia, China and the Central Asian Republics as well as observers like Iran, Turkey and India.
Stop NATO website and articles: http://rickrozoff. wordpress.com/

What Happened to the “Global War on Terrorism”? The U.S. is “Fighting for Al Qaeda” in Syria.

What Happened to the “Global War on Terrorism”? The U.S. is “Fighting for Al Qaeda” in Syria.

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky

Global Research, September 05, 2013

Region: Middle East & North Africa

Theme: 9/11 & 'War on Terrorism'

In-depth Report: SYRIA: NATO'S NEXT WAR?

Americans have been repeatedly told that Al Qaeda under the helm of the late Osama bin Laden was responsible for the 9/11 attacks.
Formulated in the wake of the tragic events of september 11, 2001, the U.S. and its allies launched a “Global War on Terrorism” (GWOT) directed against the numerous “jihadist” Al Qaeda affiliated terror formations in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and South East Asia. The first stage of the “Global War on Terrorism” was the bombing and invasion of Afghanistan.

In the wake of 9/11, the” Global War on Terrorism” served to obfuscate the real economic and strategic objectives behind the US-led wars in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The Patriot legislation was implemented. The national security doctrine stated unequivocally that the American Homeland was to be protected against “Islamic terrorists”.
For the last 13 years, war on terrorism rhetoric has permeated political discourse at all levels of government. Al Qaeda related threats and occurrences are explained –by politicians, the corporate media, Hollywood and the Washington think tanks– under a single blanket “bad guys” heading, in which Al Qaeda (“the outside enemy of America”) is casually and repeatedly pinpointed as “the cause” of numerous terror events around the World.
But somehow, in the last few months, this  “Al Qaeda paradigm” has shifted. The American public has become increasingly skeptical regarding the validity of the “Global War on Terrorism”
In recent months, with the unfolding events in Syria, something rather unusual has occurred, which has had a profound impact on the public’s perception and understanding of Obama’s “Global War on Terrorism”.
The US government is actively and openly supporting Syria’s Al Nusrah, the main fighting force affiliated to al Qaeda, largely composed of foreign mercenaries.
Tax dollars are relentlessly channeled to the “rebels”. In turn, Secretary of State John Kerry meets with rebel commanders who oversee the Al Qaeda affiliated entity.
Is this part of a “new normal”: the unity of opposites whereby “terrorism” and “counter-terrorism” are merged into a single foreign policy focus?
Is it “politically correct” for a US Senator to mingle with leaders of a terrorist organization, while at the same time paying lip service to the “Global War on Terrorism”?
While this may be “business as usual” for the US Secretary of State, American servicemen and women are now “refusing to fight” a war in favor of terrorism under the emblem of the “Global War on Terrorism”.
Channeling money and weapons to Al Qaeda in Syria is carried out “in the open”, via the US State Department and the Pentagon rather than in the context of a covert CIA operation.
John McCain enters Syria illegally and poses for photo ops with Al Qaeda leaders.

Hawkish US Senator John McCain (C) poses with infamous kidnapper in Syria, Mohamed Nour (seen with his hand on his chest and holding a camera)
The Movement within the US Armed Forces
Needless to say, this mingling of politicians and terrorists strikes at the very foundations of the “Global War on Terrorism”.
Despite the tide of media disinformation, people are increasingly aware that these US sponsored rebels are not “revolutionaries” and that US military aid is being channeled to the terror brigades.
A spontaneous movement on social media networks has emerged involving active members of the armed forces.

“I will not fight for al Qaeda”.

“Obama, I will not fight for your al Qaeda rebels in Syria.”

 

“Our government tells us that we are fighting a war on terrorism.” That is what is taught to new recruits in the Armed Forces. “We’re spreading democracy by combating terrorism”.
Yet in recent months, millions of Americans have become aware of the fact that the Obama administration is lying.
Supporting the Terrorists
Barack Obama and John Kerry are not fighting terrorism. Quite the opposite: They are actively supporting Al Qaeda terrorists in Syria, who are responsible for the most despicable crimes, killings and atrocities directed against the civilian population.
These crimes have been amply documented.  Beheadings, executions of children. The most gruesome massacres.
The Al Nusrah brigades have performed thousands of executions. A recently released video reveals how two young boys are executed following the reading of a death sentence.”In the video can be seen a terrorist reading death sentence to the boys, gunfire is heard, boys fall dead.”


Are these the people who are being supported by the US government?
The terrorists are directly recruited by the Western military alliance.  They are trained in Saudi Arabia and Qatar in liaison with the US and NATO.
These are the rebels who, according to CNN, have also been trained by Western special forces in the use of chemical weapons. And they have used chemical weapons against innocent Syrian civilians.
US servicemen and women are adamant. “I did not join the army to fight for al Qaeda.”
We were recruited to wage a “Global War on Terrorism” and now our government is collaborating with Al Qaeda.
Congressman Dennis Kucinich said “striking Syria would make the U.S. Military ‘Al-Qaeda’s Air Force’”.
The concept which is spreading across the land is that the Obama administration is supporting Al Qaeda.
It’s a bipartisan consensus: the Republican leadership in the US Congress and the Senate have endorsed support and financial aid to the al Nusrah brigades in Syria.
In the eyes of public opinion, the Global War on Terrorism has, so to speak, fallen flat.
Who is Supporting Whom? Who is Waging a War of Aggression?
The spontaneous movement in the armed forces is based on the notion that the “US government is supporting al Qaeda”.
The corporate media has failed to reveal the nature of the longstanding relationship between Al Qaeda and the US government, which goes back to the Soviet-Afghan war.
Al Qaeda –the “outside enemy of America” as well as the alleged architect of the 9/11 attacks– is a creation of the CIA. Al Qaeda and its affiliates are often referred to as “intelligence assets”
From the outset of the Soviet-Afghan war in the early 1980s, the US intelligence apparatus has supported the formation of “Islamic brigades”.
Propaganda purports to erase the history of Al Qaeda, drown the truth and “kill the evidence” on how this “outside enemy” was fabricated and transformed into “Enemy Number One”.
The Global War on Terrorism is not geared towards curbing the “Islamic jihad”.  The significant development of “radical Islam” in the wake of the Cold War was consistent with Washington’s hidden agenda. The latter consists in sustaining rather than combating international terrorism, with a view to creating factional divisions within countries and destabilizing national societies.
The numerous al Qaeda affiliated entities are routinely used in CIA covert operations. They are recruited, trained and indoctrinated under the supervision of the CIA and its intelligence counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Qatar and Israel. Unknown to the American public, the US has spread the teachings of the “Islamic jihad” in textbooks “Made in America”, developed at the University of Nebraska
Al Qaeda is an intelligence asset which serves the interests of the US administration.
With regard to Syria, the US government is not “supporting Al Qaeda” Quite the opposite, the Al Qaeda mercenaries in Syria, recruited and trained in Saudi Arabia and Qatar,  are “supporting the US government”. They are being used by the US military intelligence apparatus. They are paid killers.
Their actions are implemented as part of a military agenda; they are the foot-soldiers of the Western military alliance. The atrocities committed by the terrorists are the direct result of paramilitary training and indoctrination. The US government is behind this process. Obama is responsible for the crimes committed by the “rebels” against the Syrian people.
Concluding Remarks
We are at an important crossroads. The “Global War on Terrorism” constitutes the cornerstone of war propaganda. Yet at the same time the lies which uphold the GWOT are no longer credible and the thrust and effectiveness of the propaganda campaign are threatened.
No one can reasonably believe in a “war on terrorism” which consists in channeling money and weapons to the terrorists. Its a non sequitur.
“Support to terrorists”, portrayed as “revolutionaries” cannot be heralded as part of a foreign policy agenda which officially consists in “going after the terrorists”.
But Obama desperately needs to hold on to the “Global war on Terrorism”. It’s the cornerstone of US military doctrine. It’s a worldwide crusade.
Without the “Global War on Terrorism”, the Obama administration does not have a leg to stand on: its military doctrine collapses like a deck of cards.
Undermining the credibility of the “Global War on Terrorism” is a powerful instrument of counter-propaganda.
We call on people across the land: Mobilize against Obama’s war.
The war on Syria is illegal and criminal.
The President and Commander in Chief’s decision to support Al Qaeda in Syria is in violation of international law and US anti terrorism legislation .
US and coalition troops have a moral and legal obligation to refuse to fight in Obama’s “humanitarian war” on Syria, which consists in supporting Al Qaeda affiliated terrorists.
The President and Commander in Chief has blatantly violated all tenets of domestic and international law. So that making an oath to “obey orders from the President” is tantamount to violating rather than defending the US Constitution.

“The moral and legal obligation is to the U.S. Constitution and not to those who would issue unlawful orders, especially if those orders are in direct violation of the Constitution and the UCMJ.” (Mosqueda, US troops have “A Duty To Disobey all Unlawful orders”. http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/MOS303A.html )

“Refusing to fight” an illegal war implies a rejection of the legitimacy of the Commander in Chief.  It denies the Obama administration the authority to conduct an illegal and criminal war on behalf of the American people.
And the American people must support the US servicemen and women who refuse to fight in an illegal war.
Obama is a war criminal. He is supporting terrorists, who are his paid killers. Amply documented Syria’s rebels have been trained in the use of chemical weapons and they have used chemical weapons against innocent civilians.
The Global War on Terrorism is a fabrication and a lie.
War is an illegal undertaking.
According to Nuremberg jurisprudence, the ultimate war crime consists in starting a war. Obama and his European counterparts including David Cameron and Francois Hollande are responsible for the supreme crime: “the crime against peace.” This war is illegal irrespective of a decision of the UN Security Council to intervene in the internal affairs of a sovereign state:

“All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations…   Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter.” UN Charter – 1: Purposes and Principles  

 

 

Liberal Chick Gets Students to Sign Letter to Send Care Packages to Al-Qaeda By Clash Daily / 12 September 2013 / 151 Comments Liberal Chick is at it again. This time she heads to a college campus asking students to support her and Obama in sending ‘care packages’ to muslim al-Qaeda rebels in Syria. Follow her on Facebook.
Read more at http://clashdaily.com/2013/09/liberal-chick-gets-students-sign-letter-send-care-packages-al-qaeda/#ItvbQD4mIORFeE2a.99

A NEW HOPE WE WILL WIN OVER OBAMA WE WILL WIN SAY WOE ONTO A UNJUST RULER GOD LAWS WILL BE UP HELD

Habakkuk 2 (Complete Jewish Bible) Page Options Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email << < = = > >> Show resources Add parallel Habakkuk 2 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) 2 I will stand at my watchpost; I will station myself on the rampart. I will look to see what [God] will say through me and what I will answer when I am reproved. 2 Then Adonai answered me; he said, “Write down the vision clearly on tablets, so that even a runner can read it. 3 For the vision is meant for its appointed time; it speaks of the end, and it does not lie. It may take a while, but wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. 4 “Look at the proud: he is inwardly not upright; but the righteous will attain life through trusting faithfulness. 5 Truly, wine is treacherous; the arrogant will not live at peace but keeps expanding his desires like Sh’ol; like death, he can never be satisfied; he keeps collecting all the nations for himself, rallying to himself all the peoples. 6 Won’t all these take up taunting him and say about him, in mocking riddles, ‘Woe to him who amasses other people’s wealth! — how long must it go on? — and to him who adds to himself the weight of goods taken in pledge! 7 Won’t your own creditors suddenly stand, won’t those who make you tremble wake up? You will become their spoil. 8 Because you plundered many nations, all the rest of the peoples will plunder you; because of the bloodshed and violence done to the land, the city and all who live there. 9 “‘Woe to him who seeks unjust gain for his household, putting his nest on the heights, in order to be safe from the reach of harm. 10 By scheming to destroy many peoples, you have brought shame to your house and forfeited your life. 11 For the very stones will cry out from the wall, and a beam in the framework will answer them. 12 “‘Woe to him who builds a city with blood and founds a town on injustice, 13 so that people toil for what will be burned up, and nations exhaust themselves to no purpose. Isn’t all this from Adonai-Tzva’ot? 14 For the earth will be as full of the knowledge of Adonai’s glory as water covering the sea. 15 “‘Woe to him who has his neighbor drink, adds his own poison and makes him drunk, in order to see him naked. 16 You are filled with shame, not glory. You, drink too, and stagger! The cup of Adonai’s right hand will be turned against you; your shame will exceed your glory. 17 For the violence done to the L’vanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of the wild animals will terrify you; because of the bloodshed and violence done to the land, the city and all who live there.’” 18 What good is an idol, once its maker has shaped it, a cast metal image and a teacher of lies, that its maker puts his trust in it, and goes on making non-gods, unable to talk? 19 Woe to him who tells a piece of wood, “Wake up!” or a speechless stone, “Rouse yourself!” Can this thing teach? Why, it’s covered with gold and silver, without the slightest breath in it! 20 But Adonai is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.             Habakkuk 2 (New International Version) Page Options Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email << < = = > >> Show resources Add parallel Habakkuk 2 New International Version (NIV) 2 I will stand at my watch     and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me,     and what answer I am to give to this complaint.[a] The Lord’s Answer 2 Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation     and make it plain on tablets     so that a herald[b] may run with it. 3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;     it speaks of the end     and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it;     it[c] will certainly come     and will not delay. 4 “See, the enemy is puffed up;     his desires are not upright—     but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness[d]— 5 indeed, wine betrays him;     he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave     and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations     and takes captive all the peoples. 6 “Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying, “‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods     and makes himself wealthy by extortion!     How long must this go on?’ 7 Will not your creditors suddenly arise?     Will they not wake up and make you tremble?     Then you will become their prey. 8 Because you have plundered many nations,     the peoples who are left will plunder you. For you have shed human blood;     you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them. 9 “Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain,     setting his nest on high     to escape the clutches of ruin! 10 You have plotted the ruin of many peoples,     shaming your own house and forfeiting your life. 11 The stones of the wall will cry out,     and the beams of the woodwork will echo it. 12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed     and establishes a town by injustice! 13 Has not the Lord Almighty determined     that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire,     that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing? 14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord     as the waters cover the sea. 15 “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors,     pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,     so that he can gaze on their naked bodies! 16 You will be filled with shame instead of glory.     Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed[e]! The cup from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you,     and disgrace will cover your glory. 17 The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,     and your destruction of animals will terrify you. For you have shed human blood;     you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them. 18 “Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman?     Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation;     he makes idols that cannot speak. 19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’     Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ Can it give guidance?     It is covered with gold and silver;     there is no breath in it.” 20 The Lord is in his holy temple;     let all the earth be silent before him. Footnotes: Habakkuk 2:1 Or and what to answer when I am rebuked Habakkuk 2:2 Or so that whoever reads it Habakkuk 2:3 Or Though he linger, wait for him; / he Habakkuk 2:4 Or faith Habakkuk 2:16 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint) and stagger         Habakkuk Chapter 2

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Viewing the Standard King James Version (Pure Cambridge). Click to switch to 1611 King James Version of Habakkuk Chapter 2

¹ I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.

² And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

³ For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

⁴ Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

⁵ Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:

⁶ Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!

⁷ Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?

⁸ Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.

⁹ Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!

¹⁰ Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.

¹¹ For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

¹² Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!

¹³ Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?

¹⁴ For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

¹⁵ Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

¹⁶ Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.

¹⁷ For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.

¹⁸ What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?

¹⁹ Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

²⁰ But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

Habakkuk Chapter 2

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Viewing the Standard King James Version (Pure Cambridge). Click to switch to 1611 King James Version of Habakkuk Chapter 2

¹ I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.

² And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

³ For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

⁴ Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

⁵ Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:

⁶ Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!

⁷ Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?

⁸ Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.

⁹ Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!

¹⁰ Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.

¹¹ For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

¹² Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!

¹³ Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?

¹⁴ For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

¹⁵ Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

¹⁶ Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.

¹⁷ For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.

¹⁸ What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?

¹⁹ Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

²⁰ But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

Memo Cites Legal Basis for Killing U.S. Citizens in Al Qaeda

A Rationale for Killing: A memo outlines the Obama administration’s views on killing American citizens linked to Al Qaeda.

By CHARLIE SAVAGE and SCOTT SHANE

Published: February 5, 2013

WASHINGTON — Obama administration lawyers have asserted that it would be lawful to kill a United States citizen if “an informed, high-level official” of the government decided that the target was a ranking figure in Al Qaeda who posed “an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States” and if his capture was not feasible, according to a 16-page document made public on Monday.

The unsigned and undated Justice Department “white paper,” obtained by NBC News, is the most detailed analysis yet to come into public view regarding the Obama legal team’s views about the lawfulness of killing, without a trial, an American citizen who executive branch officials decide is an operational leader of Al Qaeda or one of its allies.

The paper is not the classified memorandum in which the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel signed off on the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric who was born in New Mexico and who died in an American drone strike in Yemen in September 2011. But its legal analysis — citing a national right to self-defense as well as the laws of war — closely tracks the rationale in that document, as described to The New York Times in October 2011 by people who had read it.

The memo appears to be a briefing paper that was derived from the real legal memorandum in late 2011 and provided to some members of Congress. It does not discuss any specific target and emphasizes that it does not go into the specific thresholds of evidence that are deemed sufficient.

It adopts an elastic definition of an “imminent” threat, saying it is not necessary for a specific attack to be in process when a target is found if the target is generally engaged in terrorist activities aimed at the United States. And it asserts that courts should not play a role in reviewing or restraining such decisions.

The white paper states that “judicial enforcement of such orders would require the court to supervise inherently predictive judgments by the president and his national security advisers as to when and how to use force against a member of an enemy force against which Congress has authorized the use of force.”

It also fills in many blanks in a series of speeches by members of the Obama legal team about the use of force in targeted killings, including remarks by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. at Northwestern’s law school in March. He asserted that the Constitution’s guarantee of “due process” before the government takes a life does not necessarily mean “judicial process” in national security situations, but offered little specific legal analysis.

Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project, called the paper “a profoundly disturbing document,” and said: “It’s hard to believe that it was produced in a democracy built on a system of checks and balances. It summarizes in cold legal terms a stunning overreach of executive authority — the claimed power to declare Americans a threat and kill them far from a recognized battlefield and without any judicial involvement.”

The release of the white paper comes as President Obama’s counterterrorism adviser and nominee as C.I.A. director, John O. Brennan, awaits a confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. Pressure has been growing on the administration to make the secret legal documents public, or at least to provide the Intelligence Committees with more of them.

On Tuesday, eight Democratic and three Republican senators, including some Intelligence Committee members, wrote to Mr. Obama asking for the legal opinions authorizing the killing of Americans. The letter followed one sent by Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, a member of the Intelligence Committee who has long sought access to the legal opinions.

The senators wrote that they needed the legal opinions to judge “whether the president’s power to deliberately kill American citizens is subject to appropriate limitations and safeguards.”

A version of this article appeared in print on February 5, 2013, on page A6 of the New York edition

• CAIR-NY Asks Walmart to Re-Hire Manager Fired Over Facebook Post (Buffalo News) CAIR-NY wrote a letter this week to Walmart executive William S. Simon expressing hope that the retail giant will accept an apology from the employee, Terry Earsing, "and if possible provide him employment."
  • CAIR: Muslim Group Seeks Rehiring of NY Walmart Worker (AP)
    
  • Video: CAIR-NY Asks Walmart to Re-Hire Worker Fired for Anti-Muslim Facebook Post 
• Burned Pages of Quran Found Outside CAIR-Tampa Office 
• Video: CAIR-FL Wants to See If Official's Anti-Islam Views Impacted Citizens
  • Video: CAIR-FL Probes County Official's Anti-Islam Views
• Arkansas School District Cancels Muslim Speaker After Parents Speak Out
  "Since that nationality was responsible for 9/11," she explained her feelings. "We just didn't feel like it was right for him to come speak on 9/11 to the American children."
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• KC Attorney Specializes in Shariah Law
  

MEDIA ADVISORY

CAIR Report to Reveal Total Funding of U.S. 'Islamophobia Network'
New report will detail groups focused on promoting anti-Islam prejudice and the money available to them

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 9/13/13) –- On Tuesday, September 17, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will hold a press conference to release its latest report, "Legislating Fear: Islamophobia and its Impact in the United States 2011-2012."
WHAT: CAIR to Release Report on U.S. Islamophobia Network and Its Impact on the United States
WHEN: Tuesday, September 17, 10:30 a.m. (Eastern)
WHERE: CAIR's National Headquarters, 453 New Jersey, SE, Washington, DC 20003
CONTACT: CAIR Department to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, E-Mail csaylor@cair.com

The 158-page report by CAIR, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, includes the following:
* A listing of the organizations involved in the U.S. Islamophobia network, separated into an "inner core" that focuses exclusively on promoting anti-Islam prejudice and an "outer core" that has other elements to its work.
* An examination of the total revenue available to inner core Islamophobic groups during 2008-2011.
* A rating of the state of Islamophobia in America based on a survey conducted with subject matter experts.
* A review of the pervasiveness of anti-Islam legislation in state legislatures.
* A listing of known anti-Muslim law enforcement and military trainers derived from a number of critical exposés.
* The addition of names to CAIR's lists of the "best," those who are working against Islamophobia and the "worst," those who promoted anti-Islam bias in 2011-2012.
The report's cover is currently available here.
This is CAIR's second report on Islamophobia in the United States. The first report, "Same Hate, New Target," was published in 2010 and argued that anti-Islam sentiment is a manifestation of problems minorities have faced in the U.S. throughout its history.

SEE: Same Hate, New Target

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

- END –

CONTACT: CAIR Department to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, E-Mail csaylor@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Manager Amina Rubin, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com