Blog Posts By Duane Shank

 Quote of the day. "I welcome this order. Justice has been done and the law of the land has been upheld by the court. It will send out a positive image of Pakistan in the international community that there is justice for all and that society has risen up for justice and tolerance." Paul Bhatti, the only Christian member of Pakistan''s federal cabinet, on the news that a Pakistan court has thrown out charges against a young Christian girl accused of blasphemy. (Al Jazeera) 

Brian Terrell, co-founder of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, will begin a six-month prison sentence the end of November after being arrested for trespassing while protesting drones at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. The Columbia Missouri Daily Tribune reports that he is using his remaining time to educate about the use of drones.Last week Terrell spoke to students at the University of Missouri: “Terrell told students the program at face value seems like a "no-brainer" because it keeps American troops out of harm's way. But he also challenged them to consider how the United States would respond if other countries were firing missiles into America from a video game console overseas. "If someone else was doing this to us, we would try to bring them to justice," he said.”

Among my must reads are the Sunday New York Times Book Review and other book reviews I come across in various media outlets. There are too many books being published that I would love to read, but just don’t have the time. So, I rely on reading book reviews as one way of keeping in touch with what’s being written. Here are my picks from this week’s books.

Noah Shachtman points out in Wired’s Danger Room that since 9/11, U.S. intelligence agencies have had counter-terrorism as their primary focus, including hundreds of drone strikes. Then he notes two former heads of the CIA who are urging a return to intelligence-gathering.“We have been tremendously focused on counterterrorism for the last 11 years [since 9/11]. How do you now begin to make sure that you cover other necessary things without making the country less safe?” asks former CIA director and retired Gen. Michael Hayden.“Nearly every major international security concern facing Petraeus’ successors is, in essence, a question of intelligence: What is Iran’s nuclear capability, really? Which way will the Syrian civil war go? Why is China building up its Navy so fast? What the hell is Kim Jong-Un up to? “Those are things that you’re not going to learn through diplomacy or through press reporting. And that takes you to intelligence,” notes John E. McLaughlin, the CIA’s former acting director.” 

Several weeks ago, the Washington Post reported that the CIA was proposing a “significant expansion of the agency’s fleet of armed drones.” The proposal was championed by Director David Petraeus to allow the agency to continue its attacks in Pakistan and Yemen, as well as shift drones to other perceived threats.With Petraeus’ sudden departure, there are calls for a real debate on the role of drones. Questions and opposition to the drone assassination campaign were already growing, now there are more.Heather Hurlburt, executive director of the National Security Network, writes in U.S. News & World Report of the need for guidelines on drone use.“Drones and other forms of remote-control warfare aren't going away. The technological developments that empowered them won't be undone. The very real organizations that do seek to threaten Americans and U.S. interests aren't going to fold up on their own. But we do need, urgently, some theory around which we create legal, ethical, and practical guidelines for remote-control warfare, based on what we know about human nature, and what we have learned about human response to our efforts to date."

There are multiple news reports that an Israeli air strike has killed senior Hamas military commander Ahmed al-Jabari in Gaza City. The Associated Press is reporting that, “The Israeli military says its assassination of the Hamas military commander marks the beginning of an operation against Gaza militants.” Al Jazeera adds that Palestinian security sources reported a total of four air strikes across Gaza late Wednesday afternoon. A BBC reporter in Gaza City says the sound of gunfire echoed through the streets after the air strike. This follows several days of cross border attacks by Hamas on Israel and Israeli retaliation.Haaretz is running a live blog, and on Twitter #Gaza, there are live reports of continued shooting and explosions from further air strikes.

Alexis Simendinger at RealClearPolitics reports on an appearance by former secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright at the Global Financial Leadership Conference In Naples, Fla. While the two disagreed on many topics, they also found some agreement:“But looking ahead, the duo found issues on which they agree, and the government’s reliance on unmanned drones was one. Albright and Rice concurred that drone warfare saves American lives and is effective, but both expressed worries about the long-range implications and encouraged the Obama administration to focus during its second term on the issues surrounding deployment of such weapons.…“Albright said she was “not sure” about the human targets who wind up on the administration’s drone-strike lists, and she raised concerns about the use of unmanned drones by other nations. Rice predicted the technology “will become ubiquitous,” and she questioned how the United States would be able to protest if Russia decided to use drones domestically in Chechnya, or China used them against targets in Tibet. “It makes me quite uncomfortable,” Rice said.”

Quote of the day. “It’s important not just in black Christianity but in American Christianity to hold onto the progressive strand of evangelical Christianity — the social gospel. To hold accountable this hypercapitalist and radically individualist strand of Christianity in American religion.” Rev. Jonathan L. Walton, installed yesterday as Pusey minister of the Memorial Church at Harvard University. (New York Times)

Quote of the day. “By making death and producing tragedy, you sought to extinguish the beauty of life, to diminish potential, to strain love and to cancel ideas. You tried to create for all of us a world as dark and evil as your own. But remember it always: You failed.” Mark Kelly, as he and his wife, former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, faced at his sentencing the man who shot her and 18 others nearly two years ago. (New York Times)

Quote of the day. “In 2012, communities of color, young people and women are not merely interest groups, they’re the ‘new normal’ demographic of the American electorate.” Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza. (McClatchy News) 1. Back to work, Obama is greeted by looming fiscal crisis. Newly re-elected, President Obama moved quickly on Wednesday to open negotiations with Congressional Republican leaders over the main unfinished business of his term — a major deficit-reduction deal to avert a looming fiscal crisis — as he began preparing for a second term that will include significant cabinet changes. (New York Times) 2. Immigration reform returns to fore. Immigration’s sudden rise to the top of Washington’s to-do list after years on the legislative back burner spotlights how worried Republicans are about Latinos abandoning their party. (Politico) 3. Barack Obama stokes expectations of climate change action. Barack Obama's invocation of "the destructive power of a warming planet" in his victory speech has stoked expectation that he will act on climate change in his second term. (Guardian) 4. Republicans face murky political future in increasingly diverse U.S. Republican leaders awoke Wednesday to witness their grim future. And then they promptly began what promises to be an extended period of internal strife over how a party that skews toward older white men can compete in an increasingly diverse nation. (Washington Post) 5. Youth vote decides presidential election – again. Millennials made it to the polls in droves Tuesday – proving themselves a central voting bloc in swing states and defying speculation that their enthusiasm had waned since the days of Barack Obama’s historic candidacy in 2008. (Christian Science Monitor) 6. Romney won over white evangelicals, Catholics, but they weren't enough to win. Concerns that Mitt Romney’s Mormonism would put off white evangelical voters did not bear out at the polls Tuesday. Seventy-eight percent of white evangelical Christians went for Romney, up from 74 percent for 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain. (Washington Post) 7. Spending by independent groups had little election impact. Never before has so much political money been spent to achieve so little. Record spending by independent groups, which in many ways defined how campaigns were waged this year, had no discernible effect on the outcome of most races. (Washington Post) 8. Obama faces familiar world of problems in 2nd term. Now that his re-election is secured, President Barack Obama has a freer hand to deal with a world of familiar problems in fresh ways, from toughening America's approach to Iran and Syria while potentially engaging other repressive countries such as Cuba and North Korea and refocusing on moribund Middle East peace efforts. (Associated Press) 9. As 'insider attacks' grow, so does U.S.-Afghanistan divide. Interviews with commanders and soldiers in Kandahar provided graphic details of several so-called insider attacks and illustrated how deeply they are dividing U.S. forces from the Afghan army and police units the Americans have promised to mentor, train and fight with for at least two more years. (Chicago Tribune/Los Angeles Times) 10. Anger in Athens as Greek austerity measures passed. It came after a night of rain, tear gas and clashes. But after four months of tortuous negotiations and a rancorous parliamentary debate, the Greek parliament finally announced late on Wednesday night that it had passed the most draconian package yet of austerity measures needed to keep Europe's weakest economy afloat. (Guardian)

The results of yesterday’s election appear to show a “dramatic rejection” of the Religious Right, writes Dan Gilgoff on CNN’s Belief Blog.“For many conservative Christian leaders, it was a nightmare scenario: Barack Obama decisively re-elected. Same-sex marriage adopted by voters in some states. Rigorously anti-abortion candidates defeated in conservative red states. On multiple levels, Tuesday’s election results seemed to mark a dramatic rejection of the Christian right’s agenda.”Gilgoff also notes that Obama increased his support among white evangelicals in Ohio, and narrowly won Catholics nationwide. 

We’re all accustomed to the electoral maps of the United States – blue states on both coasts and the upper Midwest, everywhere else a sea of red. We’ll be seeing them all evening. But what if the map were drawn with states scaled to size according to the outside money spent in them? NPR has a fascinating video that does it. It’s worth a look.

Among my must reads are the Sunday New York Times Book Review and other book reviews I come across in various media outlets. There are too many books being published that I would love to read, but just don’t have the time. So, I rely on reading book reviews as one way of keeping in touch with what’s being written.Here are my picks from this week’s books.

Tom Roberts in the National Catholic Reporter, writes on questions raised by the rapidly growing use of unpiloted drones.“Each expansion of drone use magnifies the concerns of the legal and human rights communities about whether the United States is dangerously pressing the limits of -- or even violating -- international law. Just as worrisome, experts say, is whether the increasing use of drones in such circumstances will slowly erode the force of international law, rendering it ineffective.”

Tuesday, Nov. 6, is Election Day. As we’ve seen these past months, in a closely divided country, elections bring out the worst in us. Hundreds of millions of dollars in negative advertising, families and churches divided, each side convinced that a victory by the other side will be disastrous for the country. It is clear that Christians will vote in different ways  — some for Barack Obama, some for Mitt Romney, some for another candidate, and some will not vote. But Tuesday evening, Christians in more than 800 congregations will be gathering together for communion, regardless of party, political affiliation, or denomination.The Election Day Communion campaign is the vision of several pastors to build unity in Christ in the midst of theological, political, and denominational differences. In sharing communion together, the Campaign says, Christians can reaffirm our allegiance to Christ and remember some basic truths.

 Quote of the day. "We left because they were trying to kill us. They wanted to kill us because we were Christians. … At the end, when we ran away, we went through balconies. We did not even dare go out on the street in front of our house.” Noura Haddad, 18, who fled Homs, Syria with her family, as Christians, who have largely sought to remain neutral in the civil war, are increasingly on the receiving end of abuse and attacks. (Independent)

Quote of the day. “It’s very stressful in China — sometimes I was working 128 hours a week for my auditing company. And it will be easier raising my children as Christians abroad. It is more free in Australia.” Chen Kuo, 30, on why she is joining a record number of skilled professionals leaving China. (New York Times)

Quote of the day. "Look, the city is extremely vulnerable to damaging storm surges just for its geography, and climate change is increasing that risk. Three of the top 10 highest floods at the Battery since 1900 happened in the last two and a half years. If that’s not a wake-up call to take this seriously, I don’t know what is." Ben Strauss, director of the sea level rise program at the research group Climate Central in Princeton, N.J., on Hurricane Sandy. (New York Times)

Kurt Volker, U.S. ambassador to NATO from July 2008 to May 2009, wrote in the Washington Post on the risks associated with the increasing U.S. reliance on drones as its “principal and permanent component in fighting global terrorism.” According to Volker, these risks are moral, the consequences, the U.S. monopoly on drone warfare will not last, and our national identity. He proposes that we need a standard for the use of drones and suggests“A more useful standard comes from our country’s basic approach to warfare. For a conventional military engagement, we would take into account the costs and risks of: sending a force to carry out the strike; generating public support; seeking congressional authorization; attracting allies to the cause; the regional effects of military action; and the duration and end of the mission, not just the beginning.”

This week, the Washington Post published a major three-part series, written by three veteran correspondents, titled “The Permanent War.” The series is an in-depth look at U.S. counterterrorism policies, particularly targeted killings.In part one, Greg Miller focuses on the “kill lists” for drone strikes and other covert operations, and how they have evolved.Over the past two years, the administration has worked on a “next-generation targeting list called the ‘disposition matrix,’  which is a“single, continually evolving database in which biographies, locations, known associates and affiliated organizations are all catalogued. So are strategies for taking targets down, including extradition requests, capture operations and drone patrols.”Miller concludes that “Privately, officials acknowledge that the development of the matrix is part of a series of moves, in Washington and overseas, to embed counterterrorism tools into U.S. policy for the long haul. … For an administration that is the first to embrace targeted killing on a wide scale, officials seem confident that they have devised an approach that is so bureaucratically, legally and morally sound that future administrations will follow suit.

Quote of the day. "It''s looking like a very serious storm that could be historic. Mother Nature is not saying, `Trick or treat.'' It''s just going to give tricks." Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the forecasting service Weather Underground, on a rare mix of three big merging weather systems expected to bring high wind, heavy rain, extreme tides and maybe snow to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S. beginning early Sunday. (Associated Press) 1. Whites’ support for Obama eroding. The 2012 election is shaping up to be more polarized along racial lines than any presidential contest since 1988, with President Obama experiencing a steep drop in support among white voters from four years ago.(Washington Post) 2. Both Romney and Obama avoid talk of climate change. For all their disputes, President Obama and Mitt Romney agree that the world is warming and that humans are at least partly to blame. It remains wholly unclear what either of them plans to do about it. (New York Times) 3. California eyes vote to end death penalty. California hosts nearly a quarter of the nation''s death row prisoners, but has executed none in six years. In November, voters will decide whether to save hundreds of millions of dollars by instead jailing the worst killers for life.  (Reuters) 4. Secret ops expand at U.S. base. DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti — Around the clock, about 16 times a day, drones take off or land at a U.S. military base here, the combat hub for the Obama administration’s counterterrorism wars in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. (Washington Post) 5. ‘Fiscal cliff’ already hampering U.S. economy. The “fiscal cliff” is still two months off, but the scheduled blast of tax hikes and spending cuts is already reverberating through the U.S. economy, hampering growth and, according to a new study, wiping out nearly 1 million jobs this year alone. (Washington Post) 6. Pakistani girls walk path of teenager shot by Taliban. As Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai recovers from bullet wounds in a British hospital, her classmates say they will not let the Taliban extremists who put her there force them to quit school. (USA Today) 7. Iran military action not ''right course at this time.'' The UK government has reiterated that it does not believe military action against Iran would be appropriate at the moment, following the disclosure that Britain has rebuffed US requests to use UK military bases to support the buildup of forces in the Gulf. (Guardian) 8. Syria Eid al-Adha ceasefire marred by clashes. Syrian activists have reported a series of clashes in violation of a ceasefire to mark a four-day Islamic holiday. Violence appeared to have died down as the ceasefire period began on Friday morning, before reports of fighting in several cities. (BBC) 9. Israeli operations in Sudan aimed at disrupting Gaza arms trade. Israeli intelligence officials said Thursday that their military has been conducting operations inside Sudan for several years in an effort to disrupt weapons supplies and training for militants in the Gaza Strip – tacit acknowledgement that Israel was responsible for the bombing Wednesday of a weapons factory in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. (McClatchy News) 10. Farewells and Memories. South Dakota bids farewell to former Sen. McGovern. A large memorial service was to follow a more intimate prayer service held Thursday night and attended by the state''s luminaries and Vice President Joe Biden. (Associated Press)  Wellstone''s passion recalled 10 years after he was killed in plane crash. On the 10th anniversary of the plane crash that killed Sen. Paul Wellstone and seven others, speakers remembered the liberal Minnesota firebrand Thursday for his activism and his ability to care for others. (Minneapolis StarTribune)

Quote of the day. “There is no alternative. For some of these more radical groups, it’s going to take military force.” Jack Christofides, a top official in the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, which is playing a leading role in planning a possible military strike to recapture Mali’s Islamist-held north. (New York Times)

Quote of the day. "Women play a significant role in development. [But] their abilities to contribute to rural development and family wellbeing are limited by inequalities in choices of occupations, wages and incentives; responsibility for care work; and access to, and control over, productive resources." Paula Kantor, a senior gender scientist at the Malaysia-based WorldFish Center, on the gender gap in agricultural development. (Guardian)

As Al-Qaeda-linked rebels strengthen their control over northern Mali, France has taken the lead in plans for possible military intervention. In an exclusive report, AP revealed that as French and U.S. military leaders and diplomats are meeting in Paris this week, France will send drones to the area.France will move surveillance drones to West Africa and is holding secretive talks with U.S. officials in Paris this week as it seeks to steer international military action to help Mali's feeble government win back the northern part of the country from al-Qaida-linked rebels, The Associated Press has learned.France and the United Nations insist any invasion of Mali's north must be led by African troops. But France, which has six hostages in Mali and has citizens who have joined al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, is playing an increasing role behind the scenes.Many in the West fear that northeast Mali and the arid Sahel region could become the new Afghanistan, a no-man's-land where extremists can train, impose hardline Islamic law and plot terror attacks abroad. And France, former colonial ruler to countries across the Sahel, is a prime target.