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February 9th, 2021
Biden to Continue Seeking Extradition of Julian Assange The Biden Administration will continue to seek the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a Justice Department official said on Tuesday. This means the US will continue to challenge the decision of Vanessa Baraitser, the UK judge who ruled against the extradition, citing the risk of Assange committing suicide if he ends up in a US supermax prison.
"We continue to seek his extradition," said Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi, according to Reuters. Baraitser made her decision on January 4th, and the US formally appealed the ruling on January 15th. The appeal process could take months, and Assange is still being held in London's Belmarsh prison.
The Trump Administration indicted Assange on 17 counts of espionage and one count of conspiracy to commit a computer crime. If extradited, Assange could face up to 175 years in prison for exposing US war crimes. By Dave DeCamp
Imperial America, Which Never Left, Is Back In a cliche-ridden foreign-policy speech delivered at the State Department on Thursday, President Joe Biden declared that "America is back" - on the global stage, presumably, as policeman of the world, but certainly not a disinterested policeman. The problem is that it never left. Despite some uncouth rhetoric and regular New York Times headlines regarding "American isolationism," Donald Trump never withdrew the U.S. government from its meddling role in the world. He baited Russia, China, Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela, and ended no war or US assistance to other wars. Far from leaving NATO or punishing its members for not paying more for their military forces, he oversaw its expansion - which had only one purpose: to aggravate Russia. Yes, Trump apparently removed some troops from Germany - does anyone have a good reason why they are still there? - but Biden promised to change that. He also wants to add Georgia and Ukraine to NATO, which of course - wink - would never make Russia nervous. If that's what he means by "America is back," let us shout in unison: Thanks, but no thanks! By Sheldon Richman
UK Refuses to Follow US in Suspending Saudi Arms Sales Over Yemen War The UK is not following the US in suspending arms sales to Saudi Arabia for offensive use in the war in Yemen, where the US and UK-backed Saudi-led coalition regularly bombs civilian targets.
"The decisions the US takes on matters of arms sales are decisions for the US," said James Cleverly, a British minister for the Middle East and North Africa. "The UK takes its own arms export responsibilities very seriously, and we continue to assess all arms export licenses in accordance with strict licensing criteria."
The UK resumed arms sales to Saudi Arabia that could be used in Yemen in July 2020, after over a year pause due to a court ruling that found Saudi arms sales unlawful. The court said UK ministers had not properly assessed the risk of civilian casualties. By Dave DeCamp Bipartisan Support Grows for Domestic Terror Laws Since the incident at the US Capitol Building on January 6th, calls for new domestic terror laws are growing. President Biden and plenty of other US politicians have made it clear that they view the demonstrators who entered the Capitol as "domestic terrorists." In Congress, there is bipartisan support to increase penalties for domestic terror convictions that put them on the same level as laws targeting international groups, like ISIS and al-Qaeda. On Thursday, a bipartisan majority of the House Homeland Security Committee endorsed the idea of domestic terror laws. US lawmakers heard from so-called experts who claimed there was a "high likelihood" that another "domestic terrorist attack" would occur soon. By Dave DeCamp Biden's Bolt From Yemen: Symbolic Step, Systemic Limits, and Linguistic Gymnastics The Intercept labeled it a "dramatic policy shift." And heres hoping it's that. Still, President Joe Biden's announcement - during his first major foreign policy address - that he would end American support for Saudi and United Arab Emirates-led "offensive operations" in Yemen, needs more nuance. In the second month of 2021, it seems all but fated that the specter of Donald Trump and tribal, loyalty oath-like partisan divides over his contested legacy - shall haunt and poison all discussions of each and every Biden foreign policy move for at least 47 months more. Lost in this reflexive race to familiar factional battle stations will be nearly any coherent analysis of the systemic structures designed to ensure America's war-show must go on. By Maj. Danny Sjursen, USA (ret.) Falsely Imprisoned Guantanamo Inmate Appeals to Biden For Release With calls growing for President Biden to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, an inmate of the notorious detention facility appealed to the president for his release in an article for the Independent. Ahmed Rabbani described the nightmare he has lived since he was kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan, back in 2002 and sold to the CIA for a bounty. Rabbani was falsely identified as Hassan Ghul, an al-Qaeda member who was eventually captured by the US and later released. By Dave DeCamp
Ideological Imperialism Is Leading to a Bad End Lyle J. Goldstein on the Nuclear Tensions Between the US and Russia President Joe Biden Speaks on Foreign Policy: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Do you want more news? Keep your finger on the pulse of US foreign policy. Subscribe to our Daily Digest and each evening, the day's top news stories and editorials are delivered straight to your email. Please support our work by signing up. Antiwar.com, 1017 El Camino Real #306, Redwood City, CA 94063 | 323 512 7095 | www.antiwar.com
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