Jason Ditz

Russia Says US Forces Helping ISIS In Syria, Threatens Retaliation

Russia’s Major Gen. Igor Konashenkov noted that a number of recent ISIS attacks have come from sites very close to US positions, and relied on “precise coordinates.”

Jason Ditz
作者 Jason Ditz
In this Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 photo a Russian soldier guards as a military helicopter flies over Palmyra, Syria. Government troops and their allies intensified an offensive Friday against Islamic State militants in central Syria, trying to consolidate their control on the area. Backed by Russian warplanes and fighters from Iranian-backed militias, the Syrian government has enjoyed a series of battlefield successes in recent weeks. It has seen an increase in the territory it controls from a low of only 19 percent of the country earlier this year to currently about 48 percent, according to the Observatory. (AP Photo)

Tensions between US and Russian officials over ongoing fighting in eastern Syria continue to mount. On Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry issued a statement complaining that the US has been supporting ISIS in the area, and threatening retaliation. Such accusations are common on all sides of the war. Russia’s Major Gen. Igor Konashenkov,

读完整篇文章

UN Blacklists Saudi Arabia Over Killing Of Children In Yemen

The report confirmed that Saudi actions “objectively led to” 683 child casualties, and 38 verified incidents, including attacks on both schools and hospitals within Yemen.

Jason Ditz
作者 Jason Ditz
A child who was injured in Saudi Arabia's ongoing assault on Yemen is brought to a hospital by her father, in Taiz, Yemen, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. The U.N. says at least 2,577 civilians were killed since the Saudi-led air campaign began in March, while 5,078 have been injured. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

According to Reuters, a confidential draft of the latest UN blacklist on child victims of armed conflict included Saudi Arabia and its coalition related to the large number of children they’ve killed and maimed in the war in Yemen. The report confirmed that Saudi actions “objectively led to” 683 child casualties, and 38 verified incidents,

读完整篇文章

Bipartisan Effort Seeks End To US Involvement In Saudi War On Yemen

The bill proscribes the end of operations in support of the sectarian war and the Saudi naval blockade.

Jason Ditz
作者 Jason Ditz
U.S. and Saudi troops engage in a joint training exercise in Saudi Arabia. The Pentagon announced last Friday that, for the first time, U.S. boots are officially on the ground on Yemen. (U.S. Army Photo)

We aim to restore Congress as the constitutionally mandated branch of government that may declare war and retain oversight over it. Those were the words of a letter co-written by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Mark Pocan (D-WI), two sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution 81. The bipartisan resolution directs the president to end all US military

读完整篇文章

Catalonia Refuses Spanish Demands To Halt Referendum

Spain has been desperately trying to undermine the vote in recent weeks, sending thousands of national police into Catalonia.

Jason Ditz
作者 Jason Ditz
A pro-independence protester holds a "estelada" flag, that symbolizes Catalonia's independence, as lawmakers vote on whether to seek the right to hold a referendum on independence from Spain at the Parliament of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

The regional government of Catalonia has reiterated today that they will absolutely not comply with the Spanish national government’s orders to abandon the Sunday referendum, saying that there is no legal basis for threatening to arrest those involved in the vote. Spain has been desperately trying to undermine the vote in recent weeks, sending

读完整篇文章

US Ambassador Falsely Claims Israel Only Occupies 2% Of West Bank

State Department officials were quick to insist that US policy is that the settlements are not part of Israel and that this has not changed.

Jason Ditz
作者 Jason Ditz
David Friedman gaza

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman has once again publicly contradicted official US policy on Thursday, declaring that the settlements in the West Bank are a permanent part of Israel, and falsely claiming that Israel only occupies some 2% of the overall West Bank. Legally speaking, Israel occupies 100% of the West Bank, though as a practical

读完整篇文章

Monitors: US Airstrikes In Syria Have Killed 2,617 Civilians

A monitor group puts the total number of civilians killed in U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria at 2,617 since late 2014.

Jason Ditz
作者 Jason Ditz
Black smoke rises from a US airstrike on the eastern side of Raqqa, Syria, July 26, 2017. (AP/Hussein Malla)

While the official Pentagon reports on civilian deaths claim far fewer deaths, NGOs have been consistently documenting a massive number of civilian bystanders killed in America’s air war in Iraq and Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the total at 2,617 civilians killed in US-led strikes just in Syria. This included 615 children

读完整篇文章

Catalonia Closes Ranks As Outrage Over Crackdown Grows

With 10 days left to the vote, there’s a lot of time for the situation to continue to escalate, with thousands of Catalan demonstrators in the streets, and thousands more police arriving on ferries in Barcelona.

Jason Ditz
作者 Jason Ditz
People shout slogans during a protest in Barcelona, Spain, Sept. 21, 2017. Thousands have gathered at the gates of Catalonia's judiciary body in Barcelona to demand the release of a dozen officials arrested in connection with a vote on independence that Spanish central authorities are challenging as illegal. (AP/Manu Fernandez)

Spain’s increasingly public crackdown on the planned October 1 secession referendum in Catalonia appears to be bringing the population of the northeastern region together. Reports say that the social indignation toward police action is spreading far from just the pro-secession crowd. Spain’s Constitutional Court forbade the referendum, and

读完整篇文章