Reply #20: Pakistan at the brink; Europeans decry anti-austerity measures; our media focus on trivia. [View All]

[seafan]

Barack Obama accused of exaggerating terror threat for political gain

UK Guardian
By Simon Tisdall and Richard Norton-Taylor

October 7 2010

.....

The non-specific US warning, which despite its vagueness led Britain, France and other countries to raise their overseas terror alert levels, was an attempt to justify a recent escalation in US drone and helicopter attacks inside Pakistan that have "set the country on fire", said Wajid Shamsul Hasan, the high commissioner to Britain.

.....

By making it clear that the US drone strikes were pre-emptive, and were not in any way combating an imminent threat, European officials raised fresh questions – this time directly involving a British national – about the legality of the attacks, which could be viewed as assassinations.

They said Washington was the "driver" behind claims about a series of "commando-style" plots and that the CIA – perhaps because it was worried about provoking unwelcome attention to its drone strikes – was also extremely annoyed by the publicity given to them.

The plot claims, which western intelligence agencies were aware of for months, were leaked last week to the American media.
.....

Are these heightened, but vague terror warnings to cover for retaliation for our actions in Pakistan? It's these actions, Mr. President, that are putting us a extreme risk here in America.


More from the article:

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The sharp rise in US unmanned drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas, coupled with several cross-border raids by American helicopter gunships that culminated in the killing of two Frontier Corps soldiers last week, was destabilising Pakistan, Hasan said.

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He said fears were growing in Pakistan that the US was planning a bombing campaign using fixed-wing aircraft as well as drones in North Waziristan.

Hasan said Washington politicians failed to understand how much the US needed Pakistan in the "war on terror". Nor did they realise that public anger over repeated US infringements of Pakistani sovereignty could boil over into attacks on American personnel and interests that the government might not be able to control.

"The government does not want to go down this road," he said. "But people feel abused. If they kill someone again, they will react. There is a figure that there are 3,000 American personnel in Pakistan. They would be very easy targets."

Here's yet another reason our politicians might want to discourage Americans from traveling to Europe:

We just might *get the impression* there are things we can do about our plight back home...



Here is what's going on in Europe right now, specifically Greece, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Ireland, Slovenia and Lithuania:



Anti-austerity protests sweep across Europe

By RAF CASERT (AP) – Sep 29, 2010

BRUSSELS — European unions orchestrated a crescendo of anti-austerity protests across the continent Wednesday, sending workers ranging from Greek doctors to Spanish bus drivers to Lithuanian engineers out to vent over job cuts, higher taxes, soaring unemployment and smaller pensions.

One man even blocked the entrance to the Irish parliament with a cement truck, decrying the country's enormous bank bailouts with blood red slogans like "Toxic Bank" and "All politicians should be sacked."

Waves of demonstrators clad in bright red, green and blue union jackets marched through Brussels toward European Union buildings, aiming to reinforce the impact of Spain's first nationwide strike in eight years.

Unions estimated the turnout in Brussels at 100,000 people. Some protesters there confronted riot squads with a sit-down protest in the middle of the street. About 150 people were detained, some in scuffles with police.

Does any of this sound familiar? Oh, my, there is Goldman Sachs right in the middle of it.

Whistle-blowing picketers blocked trucks from delivering produce to wholesale markets in Madrid and Barcelona. Strikers hurled eggs and screamed "scabs" at drivers trying to leave a city bus garage in Madrid. Airlines canceled hundreds of flights at Spanish airports.

Greece, which had to be rescued this spring by the 15 other nations that share the euro currency just to stave off bankruptcy, also has been forced to cut deep into workers' allowances, with weeks of bitter strikes and actions as a result.

Greek bus and trolley drivers walked off the job for several hours and Athens' metro and tram systems also shut down. National railway workers walked out, disrupting rail connections across the country, while doctors at state hospitals went on a 24-hour strike.

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Greece already has been suffering from two weeks of protests by truck drivers who have made it difficult for businesses to get supplies. Many supermarkets are seeing shortages.

The Socialist government of Greece has imposed stringent austerity measures, including cutting civil servants' salaries, trimming pensions and hiking consumer and income taxes.

In Dublin, police arrested a 41-year-old man who blocked the Irish parliament with a cement truck but gave few other details.

His slogan on the truck — "Toxic Bank" Anglo — referred to the Anglo Irish Bank, which was nationalized last year to save it from collapse. The bank owes some euro72 billion ($97 billion) to depositors worldwide, leaving Irish taxpayers with a mammoth bill at a time when people are suffering through high unemployment, tax increases and heavy budget cuts.

Also Wednesday, some 400 protesters rallied in an illegal demonstration in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, to demand authorities cease harsh austerity measures such as salary cuts.

"All of working Europe is on the streets today to express dismay over nearsighted income-cutting politics," said Vytautas Jusys, a 40-year-old engineer who lost his job this year.

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EU officials seek U.S. explanation on travel alert

October 7th, 2010

LUXEMBOURG (BNO NEWS) -- A European Union (EU) official on Thursday called on U.S. authorities to further explain the reasoning behind the travel alert that was issued for the continent, warning of a possible terror attack in Europe.

On Thursday, EU interior ministers and U.S. Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Jane Holl Lute will be holding a meeting in Luxembourg to discuss the issue.

"I think it is very important to obtain more information because it is the first time that the United States issues a statement for all of Europe," said Belgian interior minister Annemie Turtelboom. "When we must fight against terrorism we must work together, because we are the two continents who are the target," Turtelboom added.

On Sunday, the U.S. State Department alerted U.S. citizens to be vigilant when traveling in Europe amid fears of terrorist attacks in several countries.

"Current information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks. European governments have taken action to guard against a terrorist attack and some have spoken publicly about the heightened threat conditions," said the U.S. State Department.

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What is the real story, Mr. President?








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