September 11 Aftermath
Worldwide outrage as Guantanamo hunger strike enters fourth month
By Fred Mazelis, 8 May 2013
Guantanamo inmates have reported that the feeding tubes, instead of being left in, are inserted twice daily for maximum pain and discomfort.
Obama comes to Boston
By Bill Van Auken, 19 April 2013
In this, his fifth speech in the wake of an incident of mass violence in America, Obama followed what is by now a tired template, invoking scripture, blaming evil and explaining nothing.
Mississippi man arrested in ricin mailings to officials
By Patrick Martin, 19 April 2013
The arrest came after the Capitol was shut down for hours Wednesday, amid reports that poisoned envelopes had been mailed to US officials.
Guantanamo hunger strike over prisoner abuse
By Patrick Martin, 18 March 2013
At least 14 prisoners are refusing food, and half are now being force-fed in what amounts to torture.
The New York Times defends drone murder
By Patrick Martin, 11 March 2013
A front-page article in the Times detailing the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki reveals both the criminal character of the killing and the liberal establishment’s contempt for democratic rights.
US Senate approves John Brennan, tied to torture and drone assassination, as CIA director
By David Walsh, 8 March 2013
The Senate vote confirming the mastermind of Obama’s drone program followed a revealing quarrel within the establishment about the government’s right to assassinate Americans on US soil.
Oakland, California: FBI foils another fake terror plot
By Karl Eisner, 20 February 2013
Federal authorities have charged a mentally ill man with attempting to blow up an Oakland bank branch, the latest example of the FBI thwarting a terrorist conspiracy that it concocted.
US government requests for Internet communications soar
By Don Knowland, 9 February 2013
A Google report released Monday shows a marked increase in government requests for private communications of Internet users.
Judge denies Obama administration attempt to dismiss challenge to “no-fly” list
By Eric London, 4 January 2013
The administration maintains that it has the right to block individuals from flying on commercial flights or entering the country without presenting any evidence either to the targeted people or a court of law.
US Congress drops measure banning indefinite detention of US citizens
By Bryan Dyne, 21 December 2012
Congress dropped an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act nominally protecting US citizens and permanent residents against indefinite detention.
US spy agencies edited Benghazi “talking points”
By Patrick Martin, 24 November 2012
Their purpose was to conceal the connections between the US intelligence apparatus and gunmen linked to Al Qaeda.
US seeks to bar testimony on torture in military trial of alleged 9/11 plotters
By Don Knowland, 26 October 2012
Government motions to preclude the alleged 9/11 plotters from testifying about their detention and torture have been submitted to the military commission that is trying the defendants for war crimes.
9/11 anniversary: The terror pretext in tatters
By Bill Van Auken, 12 September 2012
The 11th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks passed with diminished official commemoration, as attempts to exploit the tragedy as a pretext for Washington’s wars have grown ever more hollow.
$40 million cable project points to Guantánamo’s permanence
By Bill Van Auken, 7 July 2012
The Pentagon’s budgeting of $40 million for a fiber-optic cable from Florida to the US naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba is an indication of plans to maintain the infamous detention camp there indefinitely.
Thousands of military drones to be deployed over US mainland
By Tom Carter, 18 June 2012
A recent Department of Defense report to Congress as well as a number of media investigations have exposed government plans to deploy tens of thousands of drones over the US mainland.
The Chicago frame-up: The “war on terror” comes home
By Joseph Kishore, 15 June 2012
The arrest and prosecution of five protesters accused of plotting “terrorism” at last month’s NATO summit in Chicago, Illinois is a warning to the entire working class.
Chicago police frame antiwar activists on “terrorism” charges
By Patrick Martin, 21 May 2012
A total of five men have been arrested on three separate “plots”, all organized by the same undercover police agents.
The political uses of the latest “terror plot”
By Bill Van Auken, 10 May 2012
The latest terror plot involving the CIA and a supposed Yemeni plot to bomb a passenger jet has been revealed, like so many of its domestic counterparts, as a product of the vast US intelligence apparatus itself.
Guantanamo military commission arraigns 9/11 defendants
By Patrick Martin, 8 May 2012
The proceeding became bogged down almost immediately in the efforts by the military judge and prosecutor to block any airing of charges that the prisoners had been systematically tortured in US custody.
FBI provocateur ensnares Cleveland protesters in “bomb plot”
By Bill Van Auken, 3 May 2012
The affidavit filed in the arrest of five alleged anarchists in Cleveland outlines a scenario virtually identical to the numerous terror cases manufactured by the FBI through sting operations targeting Muslims.
Pentagon clears way for military trial of five charged in 9/11 attacks
By Bill Van Auken, 6 April 2012
The Pentagon’s formal charging of Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four others in connection with the September 11 attacks sets the stage for a military tribunal rigged to suppress evidence exposing torture or contradicting the official story on 9/11.
US immigration agency arrests 3,100
By Kate Randall, 4 April 2012
A six-day sweep by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has resulted in the arrest of more than 3,100 immigrants.
French police detain 19 alleged Islamist militants
By Kumaran Ira, 4 April 2012
Early Friday morning, French anti-terrorist police and domestic intelligence carried out raids in major cities across France, arresting 19 people.
Reports indicate Toulouse gunman was French intelligence asset
By Alex Lantier, 28 March 2012
Reports and comments by intelligence officials suggest that Mohamed Merah, the alleged gunman in a deadly Toulouse shooting spree, was a French intelligence asset.
Six British soldiers killed by explosion in southern Afghanistan
By Harvey Thompson, 8 March 2012
The UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed that six soldiers are missing, believed dead, after an explosive device hit their armoured vehicle Tuesday in southern Afghanistan.
Attorney general defends presidential assassinations of US citizens
By Tom Eley and Barry Grey, 6 March 2012
In a speech Monday, US Attorney General Eric Holder asserted the “right” of the president to secretly order the assassination of US citizens.
Washington pushes drug war in Mexico, Central America
By Bill Van Auken, 29 February 2012
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano signaled Tuesday that Washington is prepared to utilize in Mexico and Central America the same bloody counterinsurgency methods it has employed in the so-called “war on terror”.
Capitol Hill terror suspect ensnared by US intelligence agencies
By Tom Carter, 20 February 2012
Amine El Khalifi was arrested in Washington, DC Friday after US intelligence operatives supplied him with a fake suicide vest and had him arrested.
The scaffolding of an American police state
By Bill Van Auken, 6 January 2012
In signing the National Defense Authorization Act, allowing for indefinite military detention without charges or trials, Obama has forged his enduring legacy as the president who codified into law the steady march towards police state dictatorship.
US appeals court dismisses suits against telecom firms over warrantless wiretapping
By Tom Carter, 3 January 2012
The Ninth Circuit decision further entrenches the NSA domestic spying program and represents a radical assault on the long-standing framework of democratic rights in the US.
Guantanamo lawyers speak out on decade of torture and abuse
By Peter Daniels, 14 September 2011
A panel discussion held on the eve of the 9/11 anniversary dealt with the continuing crimes taking place at the Guantanamo prison camp and elsewhere as part of the “war on terror.”
9/11, ten years on
By Bill Van Auken, 12 September 2011
The attempts to exploit the 9/11 anniversary to justify the crimes carried out over the past decade are wearing increasingly thin with the American public.
The record of the World Socialist Web Site on 9/11
12 September 2011
The World Socialist Web Site has an unparalleled record of articles and commentary on the terrorist attacks of September 11, their origins and political consequences.
New York, Washington in security lockdown on 9/11 anniversary
By Patrick Martin, 10 September 2011
The security mobilization was the latest in a long series of vague and largely unexplained terrorism alerts.
iPhone secretly records location of users
By Bryan Dyne and Andre Damon, 28 April 2011
Mobile phones and tablets made by Apple Computer have been secretly recording every place that their owner has been since June 2010, according to research findings presented April 20.
Obama administration to try accused 9/11 plotters by military commission
By Alan Gilman, 6 April 2011
The announcement by the Obama administration that it will try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others in a military court, rather than in a civilian trial, represents another stage in the ongoing attack on democratic rights.
US Congress holds anti-Muslim hearing
By Patrick Martin, 11 March 2011
In a thinly disguised effort to legitimize witch-hunting, the House Homeland Security Committee held a hearing Thursday on American Muslims’ alleged failure to cooperate in anti-terrorism investigations.
What did the US and Britain know prior to the July 7 London bombings?
By Robert Stevens, 16 February 2011
The early release of terrorist Mohammed Junaid Babar, due to “exceptional cooperation” beginning before his arrest, raises the question of how much prior knowledge US and British authorities had about the July 7, 2005, terror bombings in London.
Obama administration presses for law on Internet data retention
By Patrick Zimmerman, 31 January 2011
The Department of Justice is advocating new legislation at a House of Representatives hearing on Tuesday that would require Internet companies to retain data and records of user activity online.
Australia: Jury delivers split verdict in long-running “terror” trial
By Richard Phillips, 3 January 2011
Two out of five men have been found not guilty on terror charges after a three-month trial. The jury’s divided verdict points to the flimsy character of the prosecution case, much of it circumstantial, and the use of an undercover police officer to entrap the men.
Portland teen ensnared in FBI sting operation pleads not guilty
By Tom Eley, 1 December 2010
A 19-year-old college student, Mohamed Osman Mohamud, pleaded not guilty in federal court to terrorism charges stemming from an FBI sting operation against him.
Terror warning a pretext for an attack on fundamental rights
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 24 November 2010
The appearance of Germany’s streets and public places has changed since Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) last week warned of a specific threat of terrorist attacks.
Torturer-in-chief: Bush brags about waterboarding
By Bill Van Auken, 6 November 2010
In his memoir to be released next week, former US President George W. Bush boasts of having personally given the order to the CIA to employ the torture method of waterboarding.
UK government to impose Orwellian-style surveillance
By Robert Stevens, 1 November 2010
The Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition is pushing ahead with plans to allow Britain’s security services and police to spy on the activities of every citizen who uses a phone or the internet.
Unanswered questions in the Yemen terror scare
By Barry Grey, 1 November 2010
In what has become a regular feature of American public life—especially on the eve of major elections—the airwaves were taken over Friday by breathless reports of a new terror threat.
Canada’s role in the persecution of child soldier Omar Khadr
By Keith Jones, 30 October 2010
The Canadian government has aided and abetted the prosecution and persecution of child soldier Omar Khadr, from the time that it first learned of the detention of a Canadian citizen at Guantanamo Bay through this week’s plea-bargain.
Security alert ties up US air cargo shipments
By Patrick Martin, 30 October 2010
The terrorism scare that dominated the US media Friday afternoon is one of a long series of such episodes that have become a regular part of American public life.
Key witness in Khadr case based testimony on work of anti-Muslim bigot
By Hiram Lee, 29 October 2010
A key witness in the case against former child soldier Omar Khadr based his testimony in part on the work of Danish psychologist and anti-Muslim bigot Nicolai Sennels.
Child soldier Omar Khadr coerced into plea-bargain
By Keith Jones, 27 October 2010
With Canada’s Conservative government acting as their accomplice and in violation of international law, the Obama administration and US military have coerced child soldier Omar Khadr into a plea bargain.
Supreme Court to review “war on terror” claim against Ashcroft
By John Burton, 20 October 2010
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court accepted review in its first “war on terror” case of the 2010 term, a suit brought against former Attorney General John Ashcroft
The New York Times defends assassinations
By Patrick Martin, 11 October 2010
The major voice of what passes for liberalism in America openly defends the right of the US government to assassinate anyone it pleases.
9/11 anniversary overshadowed by uproar over Koran-burning
By Bill Van Auken, 11 September 2010
The confused and repulsive spectacle surrounding a religious crackpot’s planned burning of Korans has overshadowed the ninth anniversary of 9/11.
US Supreme Court refuses to hear Arar case
By Don Knowland, 18 June 2010
The US Supreme Court has denied the request of Maher Arar to review the dismissal by a federal appellate court of his civil suit against former Attorney General John Ashcroft and other US government officials in his “extraordinary rendition.”
Obama administration backs stripping “terror” suspects of Miranda rights
By Patrick Martin, 10 May 2010
Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Obama administration would support legislation that would weaken or eliminate Miranda rights for terrorist suspects, while Secretary of State Hilary Clinton indicated support for a bill giving the government broad powers to revoke US citizenship.
The Times Square bombing attempt
By Bill Van Auken, 5 May 2010
The failed attempt to set off a car bomb in New York City’s Time Square has underscored terrorism’s reactionary role as well as the terrible price that the US and the entire world are paying for Washington’s wars in the Middle East and Central Asia.
Bush CIA head agreed to destruction of torture videotapes
By John Andrews, 17 April 2010
According to a formerly secret email message made public Thursday, Bush-era CIA head Porter J. Goss agreed to the destruction of about 100 videos depicting the repeated waterboarding and other torture of two alleged Al Qaeda prisoners at a secret Thailand prison.
New York City forum denounces FBI entrapment of Muslims in US
By Sandy English, 7 April 2010
A panel discussion held March 25 at New York University Law School drew attention to the US government’s use of agents provocateurs to persecute Muslims and opponents of American foreign policy.
Democrats vote to renew Patriot Act
By Bill Van Auken, 27 February 2010
With almost no debate, the Democratic leadership in Congress pushed through an unamended extension of the USA Patriot Act’s most notorious provisions, granting sweeping powers to eavesdrop and seize library, Internet and other personal records of US citizens.
The Binyam Mohamed case and the threat of dictatorship
By Robert Stevens, 22 February 2010
Each day brings new revelations about the full extent of British involvement in the torture of those detained by the United States during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Britain: Government crisis deepens over Binyam Mohamed torture revelations
By Robert Stevens, 17 February 2010
The political fallout over revelations of Britain’s complicity in the torture by US forces of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed has embroiled the Brown government and MI5 in equal measure.
Britain: Court revokes terror conviction of Scottish student
By Jordan Shilton, 16 February 2010
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) last week confirmed that it would not seek a retrial of Mohammed Atif Siddique on charges brought under the draconian Terrorism Act 2000.
Why the media silence on the Flight 253 bombing hearings?
By Alex Lantier, 10 February 2010
In keeping silent on evidence of the US government’s role in the failed Flight 253 bombing, the mass media are helping to facilitate more anti-democratic plots.
What’s at stake in the Canadian intervention in Afghanistan?
By Richard Dufour, 6 February 2010
The Harper government’s suspension of parliament, an act carried out to try to hide the brutal reality of the Canadian Armed Forces’ “Afghan Mission,” underscores the close connection between the growth of militarism in Canada and the threat to the democratic rights of its citizens.
US intelligence chief claims right to assassinate Americans overseas
By Joe Kishore, 5 February 2010
The unprecedented statement by Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair comes amidst increased warnings from government officials of planned terrorist attacks in the US.
US jury convicts Aafia Siddiqui
Protests erupt across Pakistan over torture victim’s frame-up
By Bill Van Auken, 5 February 2010
Thousands of Pakistanis took to the streets in angry protests Thursday after a New York jury convicted Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, a neuroscientist subjected to rendition and torture, on frame-up charges of shooting at US soldiers.
US Senate begins whitewash hearings on Northwest Flight 253 bomb plot
By Tom Eley, 21 January 2010
The US Senate Homeland Security Committee began hearings Wednesday on how Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was allowed to board Northwest Flight 253.
FBI illegally obtained thousands of phone records
By Andre Damon, 20 January 2010
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation illegally obtained thousands of telephone records between 2002 and 2006, according to documents leaked to the Washington Post.
The airplane bomb plot: Obama continues the cover-up
By Patrick Martin, 8 January 2010
The statement made by President Barack Obama Thursday about the Christmas Day attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight over Detroit is a continuation of a government-wide cover-up of the actions of US intelligence and security agencies in the period leading up to the failed terrorist attack.
Obama: US agencies had intelligence to foil airline bomb plot
By Bill Van Auken, 6 January 2010
After a White House meeting Tuesday with US intelligence chiefs, President Obama acknowledged that their agencies had all the information needed to detect the Christmas Day airline bombing plot, but failed to stop it.
Questions mount over attempt to bomb Detroit-bound jetliner
By Patrick Martin, 4 January 2010
The official claim that US intelligence agencies were unable to detect the plot to bomb Northwest Airlines Flight 253, despite many warnings months in advance, is simply not credible.
Disturbing questions in thwarted US plane bombing
By Barry Grey, 28 December 2009
The nearly catastrophic attempt to blow up a US passenger jet in its final approach to Detroit Metro Airport on Christmas Day raises a number of serious questions.
Eight years since 9/11
The pretext for a historic shift in world politics
By Patrick Martin, 11 September 2009
September 11, 2001 marked a watershed in US imperialist policy. Each new outrage—invasions, torture, kidnappings, domestic spying, flouting of constitutional norms—was justified with the all-purpose argument that “ 9/11 changed everything.”
Transatlantic airline plot: The case that “couldn’t be allowed to fail”
By Julie Hyland, 9 September 2009
Three men have finally been found guilty of the 2006 transatlantic airline terror plot, which it was claimed at the time threatened imminent mass carnage.
German magazine reports
Blackwater mercenaries used for CIA renditions
By Patrick Martin, 24 August 2009
The German news magazine Der Spiegel announced Saturday that the security firm formerly known as Blackwater Associates was hired by the CIA to transport prisoners from Guantánamo Bay to secret prisons in Central Asia where they could be tortured.
Somali-Americans subjected to first Obama “terror” prosecution
By Bill Van Auken, 16 July 2009
The indictment unsealed Monday against two young Somali-American men signals the start of the first major “war on terror” prosecution under the Obama administration.
US Supreme Court declines to hear case of 9/11 families
By Joe Kishore, 30 June 2009
The high court decision lets stand a appellate court ruling that members of the Saudi royal family cannot be sued in a US court for alleged ties to 9/11. The Obama administration intervened to support the Saudi families.
Obama administration seeks to quash suit by 9/11 families
By Barry Grey, 26 June 2009
The Obama administration has intervened to quash a civil suit filed against Saudi Arabia by survivors and family members of victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
New York “terror” arrests: another government-orchestrated plot
By Tom Eley, 28 May 2009
Police arrested four men in New York City May 20, alleging they planned to blow up synagogues and shoot down US military planes in New York. The case against the men has been created and orchestrated by the FBI and a paid informant.
Seven Days in May, 2009
By Patrick Martin, 13 May 2009
The past week has seen a series of incidents that suggest a mounting crisis within the American state machine.
Obama prepares to resume military commissions of Guantánamo Bay prisoners
By Tom Eley, 13 May 2009
US President Obama continues to prepare to resume the military trials of “terrorism detainees,” according to leaks, while Republicans have attacked Obama and the Democrats over the possible trial, imprisonment, or release of detainees on US soil.
Questions following not guilty verdicts in July 2005 London bombing case
By Robert Stevens, 5 May 2009
Last week, following a retrial, 3 men were found not guilty of helping to plan the London terrorist bombings in July 2005.
Appeals court rejects Obama state secrets claim in rendition case
By John Andrews, 4 May 2009
A federal appellate court has unanimously reinstated the lawsuit brought by five men against a Boeing subsidiary for allegedly flying them to secret prisons to be tortured as part of the CIA’s “extraordinary rendition” program, rejecting arguments by Bush and Obama administration lawyers.
What happened in the skies over New York City?
By Alex Lantier, 29 April 2009
On the morning of April 27, one of two Boeing 747 jetliners used by the US president flew at low altitude over downtown New York, escorted by fighter jets. The official explanations and media commentaries concerning this extraordinary event raise more questions than they answer.
New York man receives 6-year “terror” sentence for Hezbollah TV broadcasts
By Peter Daniels, 27 April 2009
A New York man was sentenced last week to 69 months in prison on charges of assisting Hezbollah, the mass-based Lebanese Shiite movement, by providing satellite television services that included broadcasts by the party’s television station, Al Manar.
Torture and Washington's policy of aggressive war
By Alex Lantier, 27 April 2009
The use of torture is itself inseparable from the central criminal act that was sanctioned by the entire US political establishment--the launching of illegal and aggressive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Democratic defender of NSA spying was wiretapped in Israeli spy probe
By Bill Van Auken, 22 April 2009
The revelation has further exposed the internecine struggles within the US state apparatus as well as the intimate involvement of the Democratic Party and the media in the assault on democratic rights.
Torture memos provoke deepening political crisis
By Tom Eley, 22 April 2009
The Obama administration has made repeated assurances that it will not investigate top Bush administration officials or CIA agents, while leaving open the possibility of a whitewash commission.
White House bars prosecution of Bush officials who authorized torture
By Patrick Martin, 20 April 2009
President Barack Obama opposes prosecution of the Bush administration officials who authorized torture of CIA prisoners and wrote the documents laying out the pseudo-legal justification for this abuse, top aide Rahm Emanuel said Sunday.
More revelations from Bush torture memos
By Tom Eley, 20 April 2009
The full release of Bush administration torture memos provide overwhelming evidence of horrific crimes, organized from the White House, perpetrated on prisoners at “black sites” around the world.
Obama exonerates CIA torturers
By Patrick Martin, 17 April 2009
By declaring an amnesty for those who carried out actions that—even according to the Obama administration—constituted torture and were illegal, the White House is sanctioning criminal activity by the state.
The “anti-terror” arrests in northwest England: what really lies behind them?
By Julie Hyland, 15 April 2009
One week after a series of high profile arrests, little evidence has come to light of plans for the mass terrorist atrocity that supposedly triggered the detentions.
Canada defends ban on British anti-war MP
By Keith Jones, 26 March 2009
Lawyers for British anti-war MP George Galloway are mounting a court challenge to a Canadian government order that prohibits him from entering the country on the grounds he is a “national security” threat and terrorist accomplice.
Britain: Right-wing campaign waged against freed Guantánamo detainee
By Robert Stevens, 18 March 2009
The Conservative Party is leading a right-wing campaign against Guantánamo torture victim Binyam Mohamed.
A change in name only
Obama administration ends use of “enemy combatant” designation
By Tom Eley, 16 March 2009
In a court filing Friday, the Obama administration abandoned the Bush administration's legal designation of “enemy combatant.” However, the filing defended the president's right to seize and hold suspected prisoners indefinitely as part of the “war on terror.”
Binyam Mohamed free after years of imprisonment and torture
By Robert Stevens, 5 March 2009
Binyam Mohamed, finally released from Guantánamo Bay, has accused British intelligence of complicity in his torture.
Former Guantánamo guard details prisoner abuse
By Alexander Fangmann, 3 March 2009
In testimony given in December to a US human rights organization, former Army Spc. Brandon Neely, previously a guard at Guantánamo, detailed the torture and abuse that he witnessed or personally participated in at the notorious US military prison.
“Enemy combatant” indicted to block Supreme Court review
By Bill Van Auken, 2 March 2009
In a cynical bid to quash a Supreme Court ruling on the Bush administration’s detention of “enemy combatants,” the Obama Justice Department has brought criminal charges against the last individual held in the US on this basis, Saleh Kahla al-Marri.
Five New Jersey men convicted in FBI-concocted Fort Dix “terror” case
By Bill Van Auken, 24 December 2008
A federal court convicted five young men from New Jersey Monday on conspiracy and gun charges for an alleged “terrorist plot” that would not have existed outside of the activities of undercover informants for the FBI.
Britain: Jury verdict over killing of Jean Charles de Menezes demolishes police lies
By Paul Mitchell, 16 December 2008
Jurors have rejected police claims that Jean Charles de Menezes was lawfully killed and returned an open verdict. The decision was the most damaging outcome possible for the Metropolitan Police after the coroner ruled out the possibility of an unlawful killing verdict.
US: Relatives of September 11 victims condemn Guantánamo show trial
By Naomi Spencer, 12 December 2008
In a letter released December 10, 33 relatives of people killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks have condemned the Guantánamo military tribunals as illegitimate and politically motivated.
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