be just

blackagendareport.com - Obama’s ‘Center-Right’ Presidency: The Die is Cast : "In case there are any lingering doubts, it's official: Barack Obama has earned a well-deserved rating of 'center-right' politician, courtesy of the New York Times. The president-elect worked hard to pull himself rightward, after starting off with a reputation as a liberalish 'peace' candidate. Nobody calls Obama that anymore, not since he endorsed the bankers' bailout, put the economy's future in the hands of the same people that set the stage for financial meltdown, and let Bush's War Secretary keep the keys to the imperial armory. So let's give it to Obama. He won't ever have an identity crisis, again."

allAfrica.com: Eritrea: Statement on U.S. Policy from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Page 1 of 1) : "Eritrea's position on Somalia has been clear from the outset: i) end foreign intervention as it will only aggravate the situation; and, ii) allow Somalis to find homegrown solutions to their problem. We opposed the US-Ethiopian military adventure in December 2006, stating that Somalia will be a 'quagmire' for the occupation force. We consistently called for constructive engagement with all relevant Somali actors. While others tried to divide them, branding some 'moderates' and others 'extremists', we questioned the wisdom of such an approach and encouraged Somalis to establish an inclusive and broad alliance to reconstitute their country. Our perspective has been proven right on all accounts."

Somali security forces desert, govt vanishing-UN | Antiwar Newswire : "UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The ranks of Somalia's army and police have been gutted as most soldiers and police officers have deserted, often taking their weapons and vehicles, according to a new U.N. Security Council report."

Ethiopia says AU peacekeepers to quit Somalia too | Antiwar Newswire : "ADDIS ABABA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - African Union peacekeepers in Somalia have asked Ethiopian troops planning to leave the country at the end of the year to help them quit Mogadishu too, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Thursday."

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 12/11/2008 | As possible Afghan war-crimes evidence removed, U.S. silent : "DASHT-E LEILI, Afghanistan — Seven years ago, a convoy of container trucks rumbled across northern Afghanistan loaded with a human cargo of suspected Taliban and al Qaida members who'd surrendered to Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, an Afghan warlord and a key U.S. ally in ousting the Taliban regime. When the trucks arrived at a prison in the town of Sheberghan, near Dostum's headquarters, they were filled with corpses. Most of the prisoners had suffocated, and others had been killed by bullets that Dostum's militiamen had fired into the metal containers. Dostum's men hauled the bodies into the nearby desert and buried them in mass graves, according to Afghan human rights officials. By some estimates, 2,000 men were buried there."

NATO: Forces kill 4 civilians in Afghanistan | Antiwar Newswire : "NATO troops fired on a civilian bus Friday in central Afghanistan that refused warnings to stop, killing four passengers, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force said."

Taleban tax: allied supply convoys pay their enemies for safe passage - Times Online : "The West is indirectly funding the insurgency in Afghanistan thanks to a system of payoffs to Taleban commanders who charge protection money to allow convoys of military supplies to reach Nato bases in the south of the country. Contracts to supply British bases and those of other Western forces with fuel, supplies and equipment are held by multinational companies. However, the business of moving supplies from the Pakistani port of Karachi to British, US and other military contingents in the country is largely subcontracted to local trucking companies. These must run the gauntlet of the increasingly dangerous roads south of Kabul in convoys protected by hired gunmen from Afghan security companies. The Times has learnt that it is in the outsourcing of convoys that payoffs amounting to millions of pounds, including money from British taxpayers, are given to the Taleban."

Rumsfeld blamed in detainee abuse scandals - Los Angeles Times Rumsfeld blamed in detainee abuse scandals Chip Somodevilla / EPA A bipartisan Senate report released today concludes that decisions made by former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld were a "direct cause" of widespread detainee abuses at Guantanamo Bay. A bipartisan Senate report calls decisions made by the former Defense secretary a 'direct cause' of inhumane treatment of prisoners of war. Other Bush officials also are faulted.