Halifax Media Co-op

News from Nova Scotia's Grassroots

More independent news:
Do you want free independent news delivered weekly? sign up now
Can you support independent journalists with $5? donate today!

McCain! War criminals are not welcome in Canada!

The chain of command: American general inspects his troops in the battlefield, from Libya to Halifax

by Tony Seed

The arrestables: John McCain and fellow war criminal George Bush. [Photo: Anika Malone]
The arrestables: John McCain and fellow war criminal George Bush. [Photo: Anika Malone]

K'JIPUKTUK (Halifax) - U.S. Senator John McCain (R) is a former presidential candidate in 2008, the top Republican on the US Senate Armed Services Committee, chairman of the board of the International Republican Institute (IRI, an arm of the National Endowment for Democracy of the U.S. government) since 1993, and the leading American champion of aggression, intervention and war throughout the world. Wherever this warmonger goes, violence, anarchy and chaos follow in his wake to the detriment of the people and the cause of peace.Mother Jones Battlefield Earth

Sen John McCain and Libyan terrorist military leader Abdel-Fattah Younis (R) of the Transitional National Council tour their headquarters in the city of Benghazi on April 22, 2011. McCain praised Libya’s rebels as his “heroes” in a visit to their de facto capital, one day after the United States started flying armed Predator drones to bolster NATO firepower and try to break a battlefield stalemate with Libyan forces. The overthrow of that country’s government by NATO and Gulf Arab powers has now led to a collapse in human rights and social conditions. Libya became a principal conduit of sending arms and recruits through Turkey to Syria to carry out US regime change in that country | UPI\Tarek Alhuony

Caption: Sen John McCain and Libyan terrorist military leader Abdel-Fattah Younis (R) of the Transitional National Council (TC) – at the time the first public “face” of the TNC – tour its headquarters in the city of Benghazi on April 22, 2011. McCain insisted he would not have gone to Libya without the backing of the White House. He challenged critics of NATO’s intervention to tour Benghazi and see a “powerful and hopeful example of what a free Libya can be.” McCain praised the rebels as his “heroes” and called for “greater American involvement”, one day after the United States started flying armed Predator drones to bolster NATO firepower and try to break a battlefield stalemate with Libyan forces. By July, McCain’s “hero”, Younis, and two of his colonels had been assassinated, reportedly by other members of the TNC. By the end of 2011, Libya had become a principal conduit for sending arms and recruits through Turkey to Syria to carry out US regime change in that country. The overthrow of Libya’s government by NATO and Gulf Arab powers, at the cost of over 30,000 deaths, has led to a collapse in human rights and social conditions. Benghazi is now the centre of a bloody tribal-based revolt against the NATO government | UPI\Tarek Alhuony

 

Jabhat al Nusra general inspects his troops

Caption: Since 2011, John McCain – who was the Godfather of the Ahmad Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress – has served as the Godfather of the “moderate” terrorists fighting to destroy Syria. At the 2011 Halifax International Security Forum, McCain was the first U.S. official to issue a public call (on Nov. 19) for formal recognition of the Syrian National Council and its proxy army of mercenaries and jihadists, the “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) as the official U.S.-NATO instrument for destabilizing Syria and regime change. On May 26, 2013 he made an illegal trip inside Syria from Turkey to meet with then commander of the FSA, Gen. Salim Idriss. The trip was made with the assistance of the U.S. State Department and came when the Syrian Arab Army was making steady advances against the terrorist forces. However, the worldwide publication of photographs caused a furore; reports suggested that the “rebels” were the very people responsible for the kidnapping of 11 Lebanese pilgrims inside Syria. Lebanon’s Daily Star reported on the “crossing of paths” between McCain, Mohammad Nour and Ammar Al-Dadikhi (a.k.a. Abu Ibrahim), who were members of “rebel” group the Northern Storm, alleged to be holding the pilgrims. Many units of the FSA joined with or directly fight alongside Islamic State. And Salim Idriss? He was sacked in February 2014 for being “too moderate” and the “ineffectiveness of the command in the past few months.”

Defence Minister Peter MacKay bestows an honorary doctorate from the Royal Military College, Kingston upon U.S. warmonger Sen. John McCain at the Canadian embassy in Washington, June 18, 2013. McCain was recognized for his “dedication to our countries' bilateral relationship and to his extensive work in promoting international security,” MacKay's office said in a release. | THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Canadian embassy

Caption: Later that year, Harper’s then Defence Minister Peter MacKay bestowed an honorary doctorate from the Royal Military College, Kingston upon Sen. McCain at the Canadian embassy in Washington, June 18, 2013. McCain was exalted for his so-called “dedication to our countries’ bilateral relationship and to his extensive work in promoting international security,” MacKay’s office said in a release. MacKay called McCain “a great friend to Canada, truly one of the great men of our generation.” McCain’s IRI is closely linked to the Harper Conservatives, who came to power in 2005 through an electoral coup, employing Republican campaign strategists. The IRI has been heavily involved in regime change in Venezuela, Haiti, Ukraine, Georgia, Egypt and numerous other countries. Precisely one month following the MacKay-McCain duet in Washington, Canada’s new Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Lynne Yelich announced on July 18 that it will be directly funding McCain’s agency through the approved budgets for the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and the the Global Peace and Security Fund, specifically for one of two projects in the Middle East and North Africa aimed at organizing electoral coups. The combined cost of the two projects is $971,200. It is well known that “an apple never falls far from the tree.” | THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Canadian embassy

When warmongering US Senator John McCain dined with Ukraine's opposition leaders in December, he shared a table and later a stage with the leader of the neo-Nazi Svoboda party Oleh Tyahnybok.

Caption: When Sen. John McCain dined with Ukraine’s opposition leaders in Kiev on December 15, 2013, he shared a table and later a stage at the Maidan Square with the leader of the neo-Nazi Svoboda party Oleh Tyahnybok. The anti-semitic Tiahnybok once made headlines, when he announced that Ukraine must be “liberated” from a “Jewish mafia from Moscow” and defends the deeds of the head of a World War II Ukrainian SS-Galicia Division. The party was registered in 1995, initially calling itself the “Social National Party of Ukraine” and using a swastika style logo. Svoboda is the electoral front for neo-nazi organizations such as UNA-UNSO. The International Republican Institute spent millions funding the Orange Revolution 1.0 in 2004. Now McCain (and his IRI) was back for 2.0. McCain tried to incite those who had occupied and trashed government buildings in attempt to overthrow the elected Ukrainian government. “I am proud of what the people of Ukraine are doing,” he said, as he tried to rouse the crowd with cries of “democracy” and promises of “freedom and independence” – U.S. style. When peaceful American antiwar protesters showed up at McCain’s own Senate office in 2007, he promptly had them arrested. | Reuters, Gleb Garanich

neo-Nazi Svoboda party Oleh Tyahnybok.

Caption: Neo-Nazi Svoboda party chief Oleh Tyahnybok. Following the coup d’état on February 22, the fascist party was represented in the Ukrainian government; Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Sych was a member. Other Svoboda leaders in the top echelons of the government included Ecology Minister Andriy Mokhnyk, Agriculture Minister Ihor Shvaika, acting Prosecutor General Oleh Makhnitsky and the secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council, Andriy Parubiy, who oversees national security for the nation. Parubiy previously served as security commandant during the anti-government protests in Kiev and was a founder of Svoboda’s pro-Nazi predecessor, the Social National Party. Overseeing the armed forces alongside Parubiy as the Deputy Secretary of National Security was Dmytro Yarosh, the leader of the Right Sector. Svoboda has had a recruiting and fund-raising office in Canada (in Mississauga, Ontario) since 2010 with the approval of the Harper government.

McCain's visit to the barricades in Kiev closely followed the visit of John Baird, Harper’s foreign minister, on Dec. 5. Later, he issued a statement in which he characterized the move to overthrow the Ukrainian government as "historic", hailed “the courageous activists” who did so, and provided $80,000 for medical treatment for the militants through the Soros’ International Renaissance Foundaton.

Caption: McCain’s visit to the barricades in Kiev closely followed that of John Baird, Harper’s foreign minister, on Dec. 5 – just two weeks after the first protest on Nov. 21. Later, he issued a statement in which he characterized the move to overthrow the Ukrainian government as “historic”, provided shelter at the Canadian embassy in Kiev for neo-nazi “activists” and “protestors” whom he and Harper hailed as “courageous,” and provided $81,000 in 2 grants “including vital supplies, first aid kits and training” to the insurgent forces on the Maidan through Soros’ International Renaissance Foundation – a full nine days before the Feb. 22 coup d’ état. | Wikimedia Commons

Semyonchenko in camouflage uniform in visit at the International Repubblican Institute. Behind him, on the right, Tennessee Senator Robert Corker. (Click to enlarge)

Caption: In early November, McCain’s International Repubblican Institute hosted a visit by Semyon Semyonchenko, commander of the neo-Nazi “Donbass Battalion” in Ukraine. The private battalion was established in May by the “Right Sector” to fight the Donetsk Republic, who considered the Kiev government illegitimate and had declared sovereignty on April 7, ratified in a referendum. The Amnesty International report entitled ‘Ukraine: abuses and war crimes by the Aidar volunteer battalion in the north Lugansk region’ has confirmed that war crimes including abductions, executions and extortion were committed by another Ukrainian punitive regiment – the Aidar battalion. In Washington, Semyonchenko “signed a contract to organize training courses for the fighters and officers of the battalion Donbass by mobile groups of instructors from the United States, held by military that are not currently in service.” In the photo, Semyonchenko is in military camouflage uniform. Behind him, on the right, Tennessee Senator Robert Corker. In a post on his Facebook page on November 11, Semyonchenko had written, “Three People’s Deputy of the day flew to Washington to meet with Senator John McCain.” (Click to enlarge)

And look who is coming to the Halifax International Security Forum aka Halifax War Conference – the co-leader of the U.S. congressional delegation and inaugural speaker, for the 6th straight year:

2012.11.McKay-and-McCain-Forum-Pic

The HISF has emerged as one of the conduits or parallel mechanisms through which U.S. imperialist agencies are determining the Canadian foreign and military agenda, at an out-of-the-way meeting ground in Halifax for the U.S. and its NATO bloc. McCain calls it “One of the most important gatherings that is convened around the world.” Each November for the past five years McCain has used Canadian territory to call for an invasion against Iran and Libya and military aggression against Syria and Iran, Venezuela and Bolivia, etc

Organizationally, the HISF is closely linked with McCain. David J. Kramer, secretary of the HISF board, will assume the role of senior director for Human Rights and Freedom at the McCain Institute for International Leadership located in Washington, D.C., and Arizona on November 17. For the past four years Kramer, a high-ranking official in Bush’s State Department, was president of Freedom House, funded 66 per cent by the U.S. State Dept., staffed by neoconservatives, connected to the CIA and dedicated to “containing communism,” and best known for its clandestine support to subvert countries like Cuba, Iran, Egypt, Haiti and Venezuela. Furthermore, Randall Scheunemann, President, Orion Strategies, a member of the HISF “Agenda Working Group” and a regular at the HISF since 2009, has long been closely associated with Senator McCain, having worked on his various failed presidential bids, including in 2000 and 2008, when he was defence and foreign policy coordinator for the McCain 2008 presidential campaign and controversially, at the same time, a paid lobbyist for the government of Georgia. McCain, Kramer and Scheunemann were all involved in the now-defunct Project for the New American Century, a letterhead group that played an important role in building support for the Iraq War and an expansive “war on terror,” and the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, a post-9/11 advocacy outfit that pushed for war in Iraq.

Showing the importance of this conference to the warmongers in elaborating the global strategy of the U.S. empire, McCain will be accompanied by Christian Brose,
 his National Security Advisor; Elizabeth O’Bagy,
 his Foreign Policy Advisor; and Kurt Volker,
 Executive Director,
 McCain Institute for International Leadership.

Other top U.S. military commanders and state officials in attendance include:

  • John Kelly, 
Commander, United States Southern Command and Representative;
Commandant of the United States Marines;
  • James Wellons,
 Executive Officer to the Commander,
 United States Southern Command
  • Charles Jacoby,
 Commander,
 United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command;
  • Cecil Haney,
 Commander, 
United States Strategic Command;
  • Christine Wormuth, 
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy,
 United States Department of Defense;
  • James Baker,
 Principal Deputy Director, Joint Staff Strategic Plans and Policy and Strategist to the Chairman, 
United States Department of Defense;
  • Rebecca Chavez, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs,
 United States Department of Defense;
  • Admiral Michelle Howard,
 Vice Chief of Naval Operations,
 Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, United States Department of Defense;
  • Michael Rogers,
Commander, United States Cyber Command;
 Director, National Security Agency/Chief, Central Security Service
  • James Mingo,
 Chief of Commander’s Planning Group,
 United States Army Training and Doctrine Command;
  • David Perkins, 
Commanding General,
 United States Army Training and Doctrine Command;
  • John Allen,
 Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition Against ISIL,
 United States Department of State;
  • Tom Perriello,
 Special Representative for the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review,
 United States Department of State;
  • Alexis Wichowski,
 Director of Media Analysis & Strategy, United States Mission to the United Nations,
 United States Department of State;
  • Bruce Heyman,
 United States Ambassador to Canada,
 United States Department of State;
  • Dov Zakheim,
 Senior Fellow, 
Center for Naval Analyses (funded by U.S. government)
  • General, Frank Grass, Chief National Guard Bureau

War criminals are not welcome in Canada!Oppose the Halifax War Conference 2014!

 Haligonians mount a vigorous protest against the First Halifax International Security Forum, funded by DND and ACOA.

November 21, 2009: Haligonians mount a vigorous protest against the First Halifax International Security Forum, funded by DND and ACOA.

ANTI-WAR RALLY

Saturday, November 22, 2014, 1 pm

Halifax Peace & Freedom Park (formerly Cornwallis Park), Hollis & South Sts.

For information: Facebook or e-mail noharbourforwar@hotmail.com

 


Socialize:
Want more grassroots coverage?
Join the Media Co-op today.
2030 words

Commentaires

anarchy

If these guys truly promoted or merely left anarchy in their wake, it wouldnt be such a bad thing.  They dont however.  They leave a pile of weapons in the hands of warlords, promote corporate thuggery, and sell off public lands and enterprises.

The site for the Halifax local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.