We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, June 14, 2012

U.S. expands secret intelligence operations in Africa

Click here to access article by Craig Whitlock from The Washington Post. 

Slowly the capitalist leading media sources are reporting more US military involvements in Africa. Last month we learned from Al Jazeera that US had inserted combat troops in Africa for "training and exercises". Unfortunately, this source has continued to degenerate due to the influence of the  Emir of Qatar which is very much a part of the Empire. This is the way they covered this event:
Already US special forces have begun providing training and logistical support to Ugandan soldiers hunting Joseph Kony, leader of the Lords Resistance Army.
Military advisers are also in Uganda to draw lessons learned from Iraq and Afghanistan to help train African Union soldiers to fight Somalia's al-Shabab group.  
In this article from a primary ruling class source, it predictably frames the incursion this way to keep the American public in ignorance about their true intentions:
 In another effort to combat al-Qaeda militants in Africa, specifically in Somalia, the United States has been training troops from other African nations to be peacekeepers. 
It seems like more than a coincidence that the phony internet campaign featuring the film "Kony 2012" was launched earlier this year. One can easily imagine the Empire's political operatives deciding last year that the US public needed more preparation for stepped up military operations that they were planning for Africa.