Inquiry into Israeli attacks on UN Gaza schools

The UN has announced the coming start of an investigation into attacks on UN-operated facilities in the Gaza Strip and the use of UN sites to store weapons during Israel’s summer military operation.

Operation Protective Edge, which lasted for 50 days, caused immeasurable damage to the occupied Palestinian Territories. It was the largest offensive by the Jewish state in the West Bank since the year 2000 and received widespread condemnation – including by Western governments who themselves were accused by rights groups of continuing to arm Israel in the first place.

One case in which a UN-run school was hit with shells took the lives of more than a dozen people, wounding scores of others. At the same time, the UN has accused the Palestinian Hamas resistance of using the facilities to store rockets, which it says brought on the shelling.

"I am planning to move forward with an independent board of inquiry to look into the most serious of those cases, as well as instances in which weaponry was found on UN premises," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at a Security Council meeting on the Middle East.

No particular details of the inquiry were given – including its participants, but Ban explained that such investigations are standard procedure when “there is damage to UN property or UN premises.”

Meanwhile, UNICEF estimated in late August that at least 219 non-UN schools had been damaged by Israeli airstrikes, while 22 were completely destroyed, not to mention the psychological toll on children.

A Palestinian boy looks on as he stands at a United Nations-run school sheltering Palestinians displaced by an Israeli ground offensive, that witnesses said was hit by Israeli shelling, in Jebalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip July 30, 2014. (Reuters/Mohammed Salem)A Palestinian boy looks on as he stands at a United Nations-run school sheltering Palestinians displaced by an Israeli ground offensive, that witnesses said was hit by Israeli shelling, in Jebalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip July 30, 2014. (Reuters/Mohammed Salem)

A separate UN Human Rights Council probe was also launched in August to deal with the issue of war crimes committed by both sides. It was labeled a ‘kangaroo court’ by Israel. The panel chosen by the organization is to report its results in March 2015. The UNHRC’s then-chief Navi Pillay said back in July she believed Israel was deliberately defying international law.

Israel itself opened five criminal investigations into actions by the IDF, which included numerous cases of alleged indiscriminate shelling and disproportionate use of force against civilians. Some rights groups remained uncertain that trust could be placed into Israelis investigating their own.

READ MORE: Israel starts investigating alleged Gaza abuses by its own forces

"I look forward to a thorough investigation by the Israeli Defense Forces of this and other incidents in which UN facilities sustained hits and many innocent people were killed," Ban also said.

The operation that started on July 8 took the lives of over 2,200 people, almost entirely Palestinians. It displaced over 108,000 people. An estimated 20,000 homes were destroyed, as the fallout from Protective Edge threatens to take decades to reverse.

Venezuela protest death toll reaches 39 amid govt calls for dialogue (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

The death toll of the violent protests that have shaken Venezuela for the last month and a half has reached 39. To avoid “civil war”, the country’s Foreign Minister Elias Jaua has called for dialogue with the opposition. Clashes erupted once again in the Venezuelan capital on Monday night, as hooded activists erected barricades on the streets of Caracas, causing massive disruption. Protesters smashed shop windows and set fire to cars before the riot police arrived and dispersed them using tear gas and water cannons. Elsewhere in the west of Venezuela violence was reported in the cities of Maracaibo and San Cristobal, killing two people and bringing the total death toll in Venezuela to 39. One protester was electrocuted in San Cristobal while trying to reinforce a barricade, and another died in Maracaibo when a homemade explosive device detonated in his hands before he could throw it at police. Anti-government activists clash with riot police during a protest, in Caracas on March 31, 2014. (AFP Photo / Juan Barreto) Anti-government activists clash with riot police during a protest, in Caracas on March 31, 2014. (AFP Photo / Juan Barreto) Protests have been held throughout Venezuela for the past month and a half, with the population frustrated over inflation, mass power cuts and a lack of basic goods. The Venezuelan government claims that the largely peaceful protest movement has been hijacked by extremist, right-wing, political elements backed by the US, whose aim is to ouster President Nicolas Maduro. On Monday, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua called for dialogue with the opposition to avoid the threat of civil war. He told the private channel, Globovision, that there was an element of the opposition loyal to the United States that is pushing for an armed conflict. A National Guard member shoots during anti-government protest, in Caracas on March 31, 2014. (AFP Photo / Juan Barreto) A National Guard member shoots during anti-government protest, in Caracas on March 31, 2014. (AFP Photo / Juan Barreto) “The president has said: ‘let’s negotiate without conditions, without preconceived agendas to stop this irrational violence that has killed almost 40 men and women,’” said Jaua, adding the Venezuelan government is waiting for a gesture of goodwill from the opposition. The US has denied any involvement in the mass protests in Venezuela and has accused Maduro’s government of using Washington as a scapegoat. Last week US Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson said that the US had not ruled out the possibility of imposing sanctions on the Latin American country. She said financial penalties could become an “important tool” in pressuring Maduro into negotiations with the opposition. A water cannon of the national police burns after being hit with Molotov cocktails thrown by anti-government protesters during riots in Chacao district in Caracas March 31, 2014. (Reuters / Christian Veron)A water cannon of the national police burns after being hit with Molotov cocktails thrown by anti-government protesters during riots in Chacao district in Caracas March 31, 2014. (Reuters / Christian Veron) In response, the Venezuelan government accused Washington of meddling in Venezuelan affairs and “ignoring the democratic process.” Venezuela’s Latin American neighbors have also rallied in support of Maduro’s government. Uruguayan President Jose Mujica told the press on Monday that the US should respect Venezuela and let it find its own way out of the current crisis. "The first thing that Venezuela and all of Latin America needs is to be respected,” said Mujica. “When the whole world urges the US to rescind its embargo policy on Cuba, voices in Washington threaten sanctions on Venezuela. Have they learnt nothing from history?”

Mass riots follow police ‘murder’ of teenager in Sao Paulo

People ride bikes by a car on fire in a highway in Sao Paulo, on October 28, 2013, following disturbances triggered by the accidental fatal shooting --on the eve-- by police of a 17-year-old boy (AFP Photo / Miguel Schincariol)

 

 

Enraged protesters torched vehicles and ransacked shops in, Sao Paulo, following the killing of a 17-year-old at the hands of a policeman. Police took around 90 people into custody and have promised an inquiry into the death of the teenager.
Inhabitants of the Jacana district of Sao Paulo took to the streets on Monday evening to protest the death of 17-year-old student, Douglas Rodrigues, shot dead by a policeman on Sunday night.
Activists blocked the Fernao Dias highway in the early evening and set fire to vehicles. According to reports by the Military Police at least five buses, three trucks and a car were torched by protesters in the surrounding area. One man was also injured, reportedly taking a bullet to the chest when military police intervened to quell the unrest.

Riot sence of burnt trucks at highway in Sao Paulo, on October 28, 2013, following disturbances triggered by the accidental fatal shooting --on the eve-- of a 17-year-old boy by the police (AFP Photo / Miguel Schincariol)

Police say the man was caught in the crossfire when officers tried to prevent rioters from sacking local shops. He is now receiving surgery at Sao Luiz Gonzaga hospital.
As a result of the unrest, police say they made around 90 arrests for vandalism, destruction of property and looting.
The protests intensified following the burial of Douglas Rodrigues, as citizens demanded justice for his killing at the hands of police officer, Luciano Pinheiro, 31.

View of a car on fire in a highway in Sao Paulo, on October 28, 2013, following disturbances triggered by the accidental fatal shooting --on the eve-- of a 17-year-old boy by the police (AFP Photo / Miguel Schincariol)

‘Murder’

The victim’s family has accused officer Pinheiro of murdering Rodrigues as he walked past a bar on Bacurizinho Street in the North of Sao Paulo with his 12-year-old brother. Police had been called to the bar after reports of a disturbance of the peace in the area.

Officer Pinheiro claims that the shot that was fired as he exited his vehicle by the bar was ‘accidental.’ Pinheiro is now being held in custody potentially facing a trial for manslaughter, while the Military Police investigate the incident.

“Upon exiting the vehicle, for reasons that have yet to be discerned, a shot was fired by accident that hit a 17-year-old adolescent in the chest,” said a police statement released following the incident.

View of a car on fire in a highway in Sao Paulo, on October 28, 2013, following disturbances triggered by the accidental fatal shooting --on the eve-- of a 17-year-old boy by the police (AFP Photo / Miguel Schincariol)

Reports of police brutality have been widespread in Brazil recently following a wave of mass protests across the country. The latest demonstrations saw thousands of teachers march through the streets of Rio de Janeiro, calling for a salary raise. The peaceful march descended into violence when anarchist group, the Black Bloc, joined the protest, prompting police to open fire with tear gas.

"The police came in firing tear gas, hitting us with clubs. A young Black Bloc stepped right in between me and the police. If it weren't for them, the police would have destroyed us," 47-year-old Andrea Coelho told AP.
 

4 children among 5 stabbed to death in brutal NYC rampage

A New York Police Department (NYPD) vehicle is seen near the scene of a stabbing incident at a Brooklyn residence, in New York October 27, 2013. (Reuters / Eduardo Munoz)

 

 

New York police are investigating the brutal slaying of four children and a 37-year-old woman who were stabbed at a Brooklyn residence. Police say a person of interest has been taken into custody.
The victims included two boys, ages one and five, and two girls, ages seven and nine, police said. The infant boy and both girls were pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders.

The five-year-old boy and woman were taken to two Brooklyn hospitals, where both were pronounced dead.

All five victims had stab wounds to their upper bodies, the NYPD said. Police are withholding the victims’ identities until their families have been notified.
The authorities responded to reports of a stabbing around 11 pm on Saturday at a home on 57th Street near Ninth Avenue, in Sunset Park, police said. The suspect was found bloody and barefoot and is currently in police custody. Authorities believe the suspect is related to several of the victims.
No motive thus far has been established for the attack. 

New York Police Department (NYPD) officers stand guard near the scene of a stabbing incident at a Brooklyn residence, in New York October 27, 2013. (Reuters / Eduardo Munoz)

  

Police militarization expo Urban Shield descends on Oakland

AFP Photo / Kimihiro Hoshino

 

SWAT teams, military contractors and law enforcement from the world over are gathering this weekend in Oakland, CA for the annual event Urban Shield, a training and weapons expo made possible by the Department of Homeland Security and arms manufacturers.
Urban Shield, coordinated by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, exists under the guise of fighting terrorism and “disaster preparedness” in heavily-populated areas. The event is partly a trade show for a myriad militarized tactical gear and weapons, but there are also training exercises and war-game competitions that teams from California to Guam to Qatar will take part in this weekend. The exercises include protest suppression techniques and SWAT-team-raid simulations.
Past participants in the simulations include the counter-terrorism Israeli Border Police Unit Yamam, which allegedly conducts extra-judicial assassinations of Palestinians, journalist Max Blumenthal has reported. In addition, Bahrain police units, which have devastated its country’s ongoing peaceful protests against the monarch in recent years, have participated in Urban Shield events.
The event is ultimately overseen by a California-based private firm Cytel Inc. and is hosted by the Bay Area Urban Security Initiative (UASI), a law enforcement coalition representing Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, and ten Bay Area Counties.
According to East Bay Express, UASI receives its funding from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has given the Bay Area's police forces millions of dollars since 2009 to fund the annual event and other projects.
In 2012, DHS gave half a billion dollars to police departments in 31 metro regions across the US to "address the unique planning, organization, equipment, training, and exercise needs of high-threat, high-density urban areas," according to the DHS website.
For this year’s event, the Alameda Sheriff’s received $7.5 million in federal funding, according to the War Resisters League.
"What Urban Shield represents to us is the epitome of state repression that has been impacting communities of color and immigrant communities for decades," Lara Kiswani, of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, told Common Dreams. "Different strategies of surveillance against Arabs and Muslims and brown and black people are being used as tactics against our people back home. This is the militarization of the police."
As US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have waned, major weapons manufacturers have turned to militarizing police units for a new source of revenue. Major names that have provided the US and others with arms - Lockheed Martin, ATK and Colt, among a few - are helping sponsor this year’s Urban Shield.
ATK (Alliant Techsystems) is the Pentagon’s largest supplier of munitions, including depleted uranium munitions.
Colt makes firearms for the military and law enforcement, advertising their wares as such: “From the jungles of Vietnam to the burning sands of the Middle East, Colt weapons have been combat tested under the most extreme conditions by the U.S. armed forces.”
Lockheed, arguably the most powerful military contractor in the world, did $47 billion in business in 2012, much of which came from the US government, including funding for the massively-priced F-35 program.
With US-favored contractors present and the amount the US has offered to pay for the conference, as journalist Rania Khalek pointed out, “that means the federal government is essentially financing a major marketing opportunity for companies invested in police militarization and criminal justice privatization.”
Other participants include drone makers, crowd-control experts, DNA-gathering device makers, tear-gas exporters and armored-vehicle manufacturers.
"The United States exports repression globally," said Kiswani. "The way the occupations in the Arab world repress people, and Israel represses the people of Palestine, these are the same strategies used against communities of color and poor people at home."
The event will draw committed protests that aim to point out the connections between police militarization and the dangers to the communities they patrol.
"We see events like Urban Shield as one of the main engines of militarization of the police and everyday life," Ali Issa of the War Resisters League told Common Dreams.
A coalition of 20 anti-police brutality groups around the Bay area have united for the Facing Urban Shield Action Network to organize protests against the gathering.
"The Bay Area has a long legacy of organizing against police violence," Kiswani said. "We are making those links and trying to raise awareness in our own communities and across communities. We must be prepared to protect our communities in the face of these repression strategies."
Organizers will also offer statements from pro-democracy activists in Bahrain, Palestine, Canada and Turkey.
"My unarmed son was shot with military weapons by the police," protester Dionne Smith-Downes told Common Dreams, saying her son died from his wounds. "I feel that military weapons should not be used in a community."
 

Terrorist blast kills 6, injures over 30 in Volgograd, central Russia

Six people were killed and 37 injured - some of them critically - after a female suicide bomber set off a bomb on a bus in Volgograd, central Russia. Local authorities have been put on high terror alert for the next 15 days.
“Today at 2:05pm Moscow time [10:05 GMT] in Volgograd inside a bus, as a result of an unknown explosive device going off, a blast happened, leading to casualties,” a national Anti-terrorist Committee representative said in the statement.
Forty passengers were on the bus. At least eight of them are in critical condition. A 20-month-old toddler is among those injured. His state is assessed as moderately severe.
Russia’s Health Ministry indicated that most of the victims in the explosion sustained mine explosive-type wounds, caused by the bus’s paneling and the shattered glass.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has instructed the Emergencies Ministry and the Ministry of Health to provide all the necessary help to the victims of the blast. An Emergencies Ministry plane has already brought four injured to Moscow for treatment.
A three-day mourning for the victims of the terrorist attack has been declared in Volgograd Oblast.

A young man named Ilya, an eyewitness of the terror act, who was in a different bus on the same route, described the scene of the blast to RT:
“First I saw a lot of pieces of broken glass scattered all over the driveway [road]… There definitely was an explosion in [the bus] as its windows burst outside sending glass to a considerable distance, but with no fire outbreak… There were a lot of police there and also people who had been just driving by and stopped to help the victims, they were bringing med kits with them. There were people from the emergency service at the scene helping the injured, but I saw a woman sitting inside the bus. She was covered with blood and I couldn’t make out whether she was alive or not. She was just sitting there.”
According to Ilya, lots of students use that bus route, as it stops at Volgograd State University, and there were apparently some students at the scene of the blast. The bus also passes the local Cardio Center, he said, adding that some heart patients might have been there too.

Photo from vk.com/club60039978

A relative of one of the surviving passengers told Echo of Moscow radio the explosion went off in the middle of the bus aisle. There were a lot of youngsters on the bus at the time of the blast, he said.

Witnesses reported that the front part of the vehicle was heavily damaged, and that the nearby cars had their windows broken.

Bomber identified

The Investigative Committee has identified the woman who was the suicide bomber behind the blast: it's allegedly Naida Asiyalova, from Dagestan.
The preliminary information indicates that “the female suicide bomber recently converted to Islam, and was the wife of a militant leader,” an Investigative Committee representative told the media.
Also, a grenade has been found under the vehicle and it's now being checked whether the explosive is live, a source in the security forces now at the scene told RIA Novosti.

Naida Asiyalova's passport scan (image from http://hackinferno.livejournal.com)

According to information obtained by LifeNews from security sources, the suicide bomber, Asiyalova, earlier recruited a young Muscovite, Dmitry Sokolov, who became a skilled bomber respected by Islamist militants. Sokolov, now known as Abdul Jabbar, is wanted in Dagestan for taking part in two terrorist explosions, in which at least 29 people were injured, the media added.

RIA Novosti/Kirill Braga

Following the blast, local police cordoned off the scene and ordered all movement of minivan buses in Volgograd to be halted. A kilometers-long traffic jam has formed in the area.
Bomb technicians and investigators thoroughly searched the scene. Criminal investigators from Moscow have also been called to Volgograd, according to Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin.
Volgograd authorities have also been put on high terror alert for the next 15 days.
Emergencies Ministry video from the scene:

 

#Волгоград,#автобус,#взрыв первые реальные фото pic.twitter.com/uxx2IFgBka
— Александр (@smetanoman) October 21, 2013

Earlier, the malfunction of gas equipment inside the bus was listed as one of the possible causes of the blast. However, investigators soon indicated a terrorist act was the preliminary cause.
The transport company which owned the bus said that the vehicle worked on diesel fuel, and there was no gas equipment on board, a statement on the local governor’s website later confirmed.

RIA Novosti/Press-service of Russian Emergen

Volgograd, formerly known as Stalingrad, is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd region. The city spans some 80 kilometers along the Volga River in the South of Russia.
At the present time more than 1 million people live in Volgograd.

Gunmen kill 3 in shooting spree at Egyptian Coptic church

At least three people were killed, including an eight-year-old girl, and around 12 others wounded after unknown gunmen opened fire on wedding guests outside a Coptic Christian church in a suburb of the Egyptian capital on Sunday night.
"There were two men on a motorbike and one of them opened fire," said Egypt's interior ministry.
Coptic priest Thomas Daoud Ibrahim told Reuters he rushed outside the temple after he heard gunfire and discovered a dead man, a dead woman, and "many injured.” 
The interior ministry confirmed that a man, a woman and an eight-year-old girl were killed in the assault in Warraq neighborhood.
Security sources added that it was not immediately clear whether the dead were Christians. 
Egypt has seen a rise in religious tensions since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, with violent attacks taking place against the country’s Coptic Christian minority.  

Egyptians gather around blood stains at the entrance of the Virgin Mary Coptic Christian church in Cairo after gunmen on a motorbike shot dead three people late on October 20, 2013, including an eight-year-old girl, in a shooting attack on a group standing outside the church in the Egyptian capital's Al-Warak neighbourhood following a wedding ceremony. (AFP Photo)

A report released by the human rights organization Amnesty International on October 9 outlines “an unprecedented wave of sectarian attacks on Coptic Christians” which began on 14 August 2013 “as the security forces violently dispersed protest camps set-up by supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi.”
The minority group has suffered mob violence and attacks on religious buildings.
“More than 200 Christian-owned properties were attacked and 43 churches were seriously damaged across the country in the aftermath of events on 14 August,” stated Amnesty.
“It is deeply disturbing that the Christian community across Egypt was singled out for revenge attacks over the events in Cairo by some supporters of the deposed president, Mohamed Morsi,” said Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.
Copts make up 10 percent of Egypt’s 85 million population and are one of the world’s most ancient Christian communities. They have generally coexisted peacefully with Sunni Muslims for centuries.  

Egyptian women, some in tears, gather inside the Virgin Mary Coptic Christian church in Cairo after gunmen on a motorbike shot dead three people late on October 20, 2013, including an eight-year-old girl, in a shooting attack on a group standing outside the church in the Egyptian capital's Al-Warak neighbourhood following a wedding ceremony. (AFP Photo)

The Resident: The Mid East protests

The Resident: The Mid East protests



After the success of protestors in Egypt, the media has quickly shifted their focus to other areas of unrest. Do they even care about the outcome or just their next scoop?

CIA funnels drugs to poor Americans

CIA funnels drugs to poor Americans

There is a long history of American tax dollars being used to help people get rich off of illicit drug sales. RT's Ramon Galindo talked to one of America's largest drug kingpins and shows us how Los Angeles has been unable to shake the demons of its addiction.

5 Killed in Latest Round of Mexican Violence

5 Killed in Latest Round of Mexican Violence


Gunmen believed to be linked to drug cartels killed four police officers and a doctor in apparently coordinated attacks in and around the northern Mexican city of Monterrey. (Dec. 31)

Pentagon's propaganda in full view

Pentagon's propaganda in full view


With the Afghanistan war going so poorly there has been an outpouring of emotions, an LA artist decided to make a mural depicting a dollar draped over a casket on a side of a building. Many believe this is revolting but some like Founder of Brave New Films Robert Greenwald says this indicates how brilliant the Pentagon has been at increasing censorship, so anything that goes against their propaganda will be shot down or in this case covered up.

New Year, Same Afghan problems

New Year, Same Afghan problems


The United States has been at war for over 9 years in Afghanistan but has yet to see major gains despite claims from the Obama Administration that there has been significant progress. Voices for Creative Nonviolence Co-coordinator Kathy Kelly says this is a land that belongs to the people of Afghanistan. A prior question should be what do Afghan people want for their country? Not, what kind of designs does the United States have on their resources around their geo-political placement.

Media ignores infinite Afghan war

Media ignores infinite Afghan war


Instead of investigating further, the mainstream media appears to be more concerned with entertainment news, such as the Kardashian's new product, than a war that has claimed the lives of thousands of Americans and innocent Afghan civilians. Founder of Brave New Films Robert Greenwald says I think it's a combination of factors; first of all, it's only been in the last 5 or so years that the networks have forced news to become an income source the same way they look at sports or entertainment.

Drug gangs battle Brazilian police for favelas

Drug gangs battle Brazilian police for favelas


Brazilian Police have raided several favelas (slums) following days of intense violence in the streets of Rio de Janeiro. The police are blaming the violence on drug gangs. More than 25 people have been killed including innocent bystanders, as rival gangs are working together to fight the police. Asia Times Correspondent Pepe Escobar says this has been the key problem in Brazil, it was considered a "no man's land" that the government forgot about because the drug cartel's overran the local area.

Raw Video: Bombing in Iraq Targets Christians

Raw Video: Bombing in Iraq Targets Christians


Iraqi officials say bombings have targeted Baghdad's Christian neighborhoods, killing at least four people. Al-Qaida militants admitted that attack and also threatened more violence against Iraq's Christians. (Nov. 10)

Black Riders demand justice for Oscar Grant - Exclusive

Black Riders demand justice for Oscar Grant - Exclusive


Check out this exclusive footage of members from The Black Riders Liberation Party protesting the sentencing of the police officer who murdered Oscar Grant. Their leader, General Wolverine Shakur was arrested during a raid, a day before the Oscar Grant verdict was read in Los Angeles

Waiting for riots over Oscar Grant ruling - Raw Footage

Waiting for riots over Oscar Grant ruling - Raw Footage


Check out this raw footage of protesters gathering in downtown Oakland over the two-year prison term handed down to former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle for killing Oscar Grant

Invasion of Grenada blueprint for Iraq

Invasion of Grenada blueprint for Iraq


27 years ago today, 7,000 U.S. troops invaded a tiny island nation of 95,000 under the guise of fighting an imminent communist threat. The reality was a brutal invasion and a high human cost because of the US's use of overwhelming force against largely unarmed civilians. But in many ways, the invasion of Grenada was a litmus test for post-Vietnam War interventions and imperialism—a legacy that lives on today in the Iraq War.

Karzai does not take democracy seriously

Karzai does not take democracy seriously

most elections, the question is about who might win. In the case of Afghanistan, which will elect the lower house of its parliament on September 18, the focus is on whether they can be held in a credible manner across the country. Ann Marlowe, a fellow at the Hudson Institute argued that the high number of candidates and disorganization is leading to much conspiracy. Many of the candidates and observes fear Afghan President Hamid Karzai will again use tactics to pack the Parliament with supporters to try and amend the national constitution to give himself unlimited terms in office.

Afghan elections highlight failure, not progress

Afghan elections highlight failure, not progress

In most elections, the question is about who might win. In the case of Afghanistan, which will elect the lower house of its parliament on September 18, the focus is on whether they can be held in a credible manner across the country. So far a number of election workers and a candidate have already been kidnapped. Journalist Kelley Vlahos said the US has used the elections, both in Iraq and Afghanistan as symbols of freedom and progress; however it is unlikely this election will highlight progress. She said these elections will more likely show the failures of international efforts in Afghanistan and illustrate the corruption in the Afghan government.