Foundation fellows and diplomats have lauded the overwhelming approval of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) by the General Assembly of the United Nations, with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon describing it as a means to obstruct the illicit arms flow to warlords, pirates, terrorists, criminals and the like. Many who have critically monitored the situation in Syria and the ramifications of foreign intervention in Libya may have difficulty swallowing Ban’s words, as some would argue that the UN has itself been complicit in these crises for turning a blind eye to arms and funding going to al-Qaeda-linked rebels in various countries. Twenty-three countries abstained from the vote (representing half the world’s population), including Russia, China, India, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Egypt, while three – Syria, Iran, and North Korea – voted no. Iran’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Gholam-Hossein Dehqani called the treaty a political document disguised as an Arms Trade Treaty, and with highly legitimate reasons for doing so.

“The right to acquire and import arms for their (importer states’) security needs is subject to the discretionary judgment and extremely subjective assessment of the exporting states. That is why this text is highly abusable and susceptible to politicization, manipulation and discrimination,â€� said Dehghani, referring to conditions that arms exporting states would be able to impose on importing states. The pact prohibits the export of conventional arms to countries deemed guilty of violating international human rights laws and committing crimes against humanity – sure, this appears to be ethical and just at first glance, but more careful reflection is required. If we assume that the United Nations makes the call on which states qualify as human rights abusers and which states do not, then Israel would not be hindered from purchasing conventional weapons, but a country like Syria would be barred from purchasing arms to defend itself and its territorial sovereignty. Read more È

Prosecutors always expand laws far beyond their intent. Attorneys in civil cases do the same. For example, the 1970 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was passed in order to make it easier for the government to convict members of the Mafia. However, the law, despite its intent, was quickly expanded by prosecutors and attorneys and used in cases against pro-life activists, Catholic bishops, corporations accused of hiring illegal immigrants, and in divorce cases. “Junk bond king� Michael Milken, a person with no ties to organized crime, was threatened with indictment under the RICO Act. Prosecutors have found that the asset freeze provision in the Act is a convenient way to prevent a defendant from being able to pay attorneys and, therefore, makes it easier for prosecutors to coerce innocent defendants into a guilty plea.

We are now witnessing the expansion of Obama’s Kill List. The list began under the Bush regime as a rationale for murdering suspect citizens of countries with which the US was not at war. The Obama regime expanded the scope of the list to include the execution, without due process of law, of US citizens accused, without evidence presented in court, of association with terrorism. The list quickly expanded to include the American teen-age son of a cleric accused of preaching jihad against the West. The son’s “associationâ€� with terrorism apparently was his blood relationship to his father. Read more È

Extrajudicial killing is official US policy. Doing so violates fundamental international, constitutional, and US statute laws.

Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:

“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”

Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states:

“Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” Read more È

Last week it was announced that the US was establishing a drone base in Niger, while France continues its war in neighboring Mali. What is the West doing in Africa? To answer that, it would help to look at the role of the West in the past few decades across the continent, with France alone engaging in over 50 military interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa since the end of World War II, the United States participating or tacitly supporting some of the world’s worst conflicts, specifically the Congo War, which has killed over 6 million people since 1997. The establishment of AFRICOM in 2008 has marked Africa as the world’s battlefield for domination in the coming decades. The new drone base in Niger, is a symbol of the warfare on its way to the world’s richest continent, where only the people are poor.

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A previous article said Obama decided who lives or dies. His kill list chooses targets. He designated himself judge, jury and executioner.

He chose John Brennan as new CIA director. He’s currently Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. He’s Obama’s chief counterterrorism advisor.

He heads the administration’s Murder, Inc. agenda. As CIA head, he’ll do more than advise. He’ll have direct control. Expect him to take full advantage.

Anyone can be targeted anywhere in the world. US citizens are vulnerable. They can be murdered for any reason or none at all.

Drone wars are prioritized. They’re becoming Washington’s weapon of choice. They’re instruments of state terror. They operate round-the-clock. Read more È

Following upon last week’s discussion of drone warfare, this week’s episode places drone war in the context of the “war on terror,” or what the Obama administration has come to call “Overseas Contingency Operations.” How and why did drone warfare become so popular under Obama, what other policies are advanced in the name of the “terror war” and can drone war itself be perceived as “international terrorism”? These are some questions and issues examined in this episode.

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