Transcripts For KCSM Democracy Now 20170531

Then to london to speak with Amnesty International about a newly declassified pentagon audit that shows the u. S. Army failed to keep track of more than 1 billion worth of weapons and military equipment sent to iraq and kuwait, including tens of thousands of assault rifles and hundreds of armored vehicles. ,e will also talk about syria where u. S. Defense secretary james mattis says the u. S. Is shifting to annihilation tactics in its fight against isis. Our strategy right now is to accelerate the campaign against isis. It is a threat to all civilized nations and the bottom line is, we are going to move in an accelerated and reinforced manner, throw them on their back foot. Amy but as the u. S. Ramps up airstrikes, are syrian civilians are paying the price . And leaked documents reveal counterterrorism tactics were used at Standing Rock by the Security Firm tigerswan, hired by Energy Transfer partners. Against water protectors who they call insurgents. We will speak with the intercept reporter broke the story and tara houska of honor the earth. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. In afghanistan, a massive bombing near the German Embassy in the capital kabul killed more than 80 people and wounded over 350 during rush hour traffic wednesday morning. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. Though, the taliban said they are not responsible. Officials have described todays bombing as one of the biggest blasts ever in kabul. It shattered windows more than a mile away from explosions center and blasted a crater more than 13 feet deep into the ground. Among those who were killed was aziz navin, who worked for the afghan tv station tolo tv, and mohammed nazir, who has worked as a driver for the bbc Afghan Service for four years and was killed this morning as he was driving his coworkers to the office. Nearby hospitals were inundated with wounded patients after the blast. This is ghulam mohammad. I was at my desk when i heard a terrible sound and became unconscious. I did not know what happened to me. A few minutes later when i open my eyes, i found myself under the desk and blood coming out of my shoulder. It was a dreadful explosion. Amy todays bombing comes as the white house is weighing the pentagons proposal to send thousands more u. S. Troops to afghanistan. We will go to couple kabul after headlines. President trump escalated his feud with german chancellor Angela Merkel on tuesday, taking to twitter to threaten germany over trade and nato. Trump tweeted we have a massive trade deficit with germany, plus they pay far less than they should on nato military. Very bad for u. S. This will change. Trumps complaints comes after chancellor merkel called her meetings with trump at the g7 summit over the weekend disappointing and said europe had to take its fate in its own hands. European allies have expressed particular frustration over trumps refusal to commit the United States to fulfilling its pledges to the landmark 2015 paris climate accord. The New York Times reports trumps inner circle is fiercely divided on the paris climate accord, with chief strategist steve bannon and epa administrator scott pruitt demanding trump withdraw from the accord, while secretary of state Rex Tillerson and trumps daughter and adviser ivanka trump are advocating for the agreement. On tuesday, United Nations secretarygeneral Antonio Guterres called on the u. S. To remain a party to the landmark agreement. Alreadyte change are being felt around the world, and they are dangerous and they are accelerating. Some argument today is that it is absolutely essential that the world implements the paris agreements and that we fulfill that duty with increased ambition. And the reason is threefold. Climate change is undeniable. It is unstoppable. Climate Solutions Provide opportunities that are unmatchable. Amy former National Security adviser Michael Flynn will turn over some subpoenaed documents to the Senate Intelligence committee as part of its investigation into whether the Trump Campaign colluded with russia to allegedly influence the 2016 election. Flynn had previously said he would refuse to turn over any of the requested personal documents, saying hed instead plead the fifth. Now flynn says he will begin turning over documents that pertain to two of his businesses, as well as personal documents, as early as june 6. This comes as president Donald Trumps personal attorney, michael cohen, said he would not comply with a house Intelligence Committee request for information about his ties to russian officials. Meanwhile, President Trump and the white house continue to complain about the use of Anonymous Sources in news reports about the Ongoing Investigation into the trump administrations ties to russia. This is White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer speaking about recent leaks about the tuesday investigation into trumps soninlaw and Senior Adviser Jared Kushners attempts to establish a backchannel of communication with russia. Im not going to get into the what the president did or did not discuss. What your question assumes is a lot of facts that are not substantiated by anything but Anonymous Sources that are so far being leaked out. Amy President Trump has also complained about the use of unnamed sources, tweeting over the weekend whenever you see the words sources say in the fake news media, and they dont mention names, it is very possible that those sources dont exist but are made up by fake news writers. Fakenews is the enemy but on tuesday, trump retweeted a fox news article based exclusively on a single unnamed source who said kushner did not discuss a possible back channel with russia during a december meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak at trump tower. Cnn is reporting President Trump is expected to roll back some of the u. S. s new diplomatic and commercial relations with cuba, which were brokered under the obama administration. Unnamed u. S. Officials say trump may reinstate restrictions on americans visiting cuba and bringing back famous cuba goods, like cigars and rum. Officials also say trump might demand the extradition of people might demand the extradition of people who have received political asylum in cuba, like assata shakur. Before becoming president , trumps businesses violated u. S. Embargo on cuba, sickly doing business in cuba in the late 1960s, then trying to cover it up. Trumps company then called trump hotels and casino result resorts spinelli 60,000 in cuba during a secret is nestor to havana. At the time it was illegal under u. S. Law just been any corporate money in cuba. In the philippines, president Rodrigo Duterte a has sparked outrage after he told soldiers they could rape women with impunity in the region of mindanao, where duterte has declared martial law. In a speech friday, the philippine president said, if you happen to have raped three women, i will own up to it, implying hed cover for the soldiers and take responsibility himself for the rape. In the past, duterte has said he wished hed been first in line in a gang rape of a woman who was raped and murdered in the 1980s. In taiwan, the highest court has ruled against laws prohibiting lgbt couples from marrying, making taiwan poised to be the first country in asia to legalize marriage equality. The victory came after a longtime lgbt activist sued when he was prohibited from marrying his longtime partner. In its ruling the court wrote the freedom of marriage for two persons of the same sex, once legally recognized, will constitute the collective basis, together with oppositesex marriage, for a stable society. Back in the United States, in cleveland, the Police Officer who killed 12yearold tamir rice has been fired, but not over the shooting of the African American boy. In 2014, officer Timothy Loehmann shot rice within two seconds of arriving at a Cleveland Park where rice was playing with a toy pellet gun. Neither loehmann nor his partner, frank garmback, administered any first aid. When tamirs 14yearold sister rushed to her brothers side, they tackled her to the ground, handcuffed her, and put her in their cruiser. Tamir died the next day. A Cleveland Police Department Investigation concluded the two officers did not violate Department Policies in killing the child. But on tuesday, officials said loehmann will be fired after a second investigation found hed lied in his job application to the police department. Tamir rices mother samaria said i am relieved loehmann has been fired because he should never have been a Police Officer in the first place but he should have been fired for shooting my son in less than one second, not just for lying on his application. In north carolina, undocumented grandmother Juana Luz Tobar Ortega is seeking sanctuary in an Episcopal Church today to avoid her deportation. Ortega has lived in the United States since 1992, when she fled violence in guatemala. She works as a sewing Machine Operator at a Textile Factory near her home in asheboro, north carolina. Since 2011, shes been reporting to annual required ice checkins without problems. But this spring after President Trump took office, ice officials instead ordered her to leave the country by today, may 31. Instead, she is seeking sanctuary in efforts to remain in the United States with her four children and two grandchildren. In new york benjamin , yellow benjy melendez, a gang leader who brokered a historic peace deal between rival gangs in the bronx and harlem, has died at the age of 65. Melendez was a puerto rican nationalist who was radicalized by a young member of the black panthers. In 1971, he was the leader of the ghetto brothers gang when one the gangs members was murdered. In response, melendez called for the historic hoe avenue peace meeting, which deescalated Gang Violence in new york city for at least a decade. And breaking news, a news websites has President Trump has decided to pull out of the landmark 2015 paris climate accord. Their reporting this breaking unnameded on two sources. It has not been confirmed by the white house or other news outlets. Sources had direct knowledge made by republican billionaire who has globalclimate warming a hoax perpetrated by china. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Nermeen and im nermeen shaikh. Welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. We begin todays show in afghanistan, where a massive bomb blast in the capital kabul killed more than 80 people and wounded over 350 when it exploded during rush hour traffic wednesday morning. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Officials have described todays bombing as one of the biggest blasts ever in kabul. It shattered windows more than a mile away from explosions center and blasted a crater more than 13 feet deep into the ground. Nearby hospitals were inundated with wounded patients after the blast. This is ghulam mohammad. I was at my desk when i heard a terrible sound and became unconscious. I did not know what happened to me and a few minutes later when i open my eyes, i found myself under the desk and saw blood coming out of my shoulder. It was a dreadful explosion. Amy todays bombing comes as the white house is weighing the pentagons proposal to send thousands more u. S. Troops to afghanistan. Among those who were killed in the blast was aziz navin, who the afghan tv station tolo tv, and mohammed nazir, who has worked as a driver for the bbc Afghan Service for four years. For more we go to kabul now where we are joined via democarcy now video stream by lotfullah najafizada, news news who losttolo one of their employees. We welcome you to democracy now can you describe what took place today . Morningin the and i was in my office when i shook the building. I thought it was an earthquake. And then there was a huge blast. ,e hear a lot of blasts probably dozens in the past two years. But this one was different. It was so loud. We got probably we were attacked, and then we realized it was a few hundred meters away. Unfortunately, one of my colleagues who was on his way to the office, lost his life. Him thisuried afternoon. It was so difficult for us to go find him. We had to go and find his dead bodies,ng over 50 dead which were at the hospital two hospitals by noon. Most of the bodies were burned to death. Some bodies, just a few body parts available beyond recognition. It was very tragic and barbaric attack. What is even more unfortunate, no one has claimed responsibility and the Afghan Government has failed to provide explanation as how this could have happened in the heart of the capital. We feel there is no accountability from the Afghan Governments side. Nermeen could you tell us what we know so far about the other casualties . You say that some people, their bodies were such that they could not be identified after the blast, but do we know anything about the other now 80 or more people who have died in this blast . Than 80. Certainly more there are no official numbers as of now, but could be around 100 or more because most of the people wounded some of them are in critical condition. They are sent to hospitals in different parts of the city. I think by tomorrow, we will be in a position to know how many people actually lost their lives. Even 80 people plus, that is a huge number, especially when most of them are civilians, workingclass people, who are going to these embassies, ngos, organizations, tv channels in this neighborhood which isnt area in theg nations capital. It is certainly very difficult. Amy lotfullah najafizada, can you tell us about your own worker, aziz navin . He was killed in this explosion. Aziz was a 22yearold colleague of mine. He was dealing with i. T. Stuff here, and a very bright man, ambitious. He always had a smile on his face. Very committed to his work. Officewalking to the when the attack happened. He was close by. He was killed on the spot. His body was taken to the hospital. This is stuff the first time we have lost a colleague in attacks like this. Colleaguesen of my tvthe attack targeting tolo last year in january. For us, it is not a first time. It every time it happens, it is very heartbreaking and very difficult. Amy do you think it is significant this happened outside the German Embassy in afghanistan . Did you see it as an attack on the German Embassy . Theplomatic area, parts of German Embassy were affected as well as the french embassy. It has affected a lot of is thees, because this British Embassy area, German Embassy next door, indonesian embassy, french embassy, and a little bit further, the u. S. Embassy. Oneg Afghan Companies of the Biggest Telecom companies is badly affected. It is hard to say which embassy or which organization was this specific target. But what we know from afghan and u. S. Military is that this truck full of explosives wanted to get into the green zone where ordinary afghans and ordinary vehicles are not allowed. So they wanted to get in and probably even closer to u. S. Military base headquarters, president ial palace, an indian and theand so forth, u. S. Embassy, of course. But it was stopped by an afghan guard asking for permits and papers. Which i think they could not provide or it was not convincing. That was when the suicide bomber or bombers, we dont know how many were in the truck am a detonated the explosives. Amy we were particularly struck today watching the networks in the United States while, of course, it was mentioned of what just took place, just watching for hours, there was nothing in comparison to what happened in manchester the terrible explosion that killed 22 people, almost all programming stopped on that day. Can you talk about what is happening in afghanistan and whether you think the News Coverage i mean, youre the news director for tolo news, but do you think the kind of attacks that we are seeing in afghanistan today get enough International Attention . Of course it doesnt. Afghan story is an old story for westerners. A lot of people lose their lives here on a daily basis, and they are not even reported. This one was huge. It was in the capital. It made headlines, but it is about the number of the casualties and the importance the location, not about the afghan lives lost in this attack. It is not about how it has affected the society. I am very sad to say this, but the afghan story probably the syrian or iraqi stories are just about numbers when attacks happen. I hope it will change again for better one day, and you hear more about the human side of this. What happened today is definitely a tragic and huge attack, but this is not the only attack which happens in this country. On ase tens of afghans daily basis across afghanistan. And some of them are not even in the news, even locally, because of the amount of incidents and attack you see across afghanistan. Nermeen lotfullah najafizada, i would to go back to what you said earlier and what the news is adjusting, of course, the taliban has said they were not responsible for the attack. But some news outlets are reporting that the attack today was very similar to recent taliban attacks and that more recently, for several attacks, the socalled Islamic State or isis has claimed responsibility. Could you say who you think might be responsible for the attack and what the motivation might have been . Understand, i nobody claims responsibility, particularly the taliban were you see a lot of civilian casualties during public outcry and public criticism. Fearing public outcry and public criticism. If you had more military casualties, im sure you would see taliban and others rushing to claim credit and responsibility. Well, the question is, who had suicide bombers . Andcan really train bombers bring trucks full of explosives into the capital . These terrorist groups who are active and have been doing this for many, many years. I am not going to name anyone. I do not think it is appropriate at this stage for me to blame someone. But i think, certainly, some of these terrorist groups who have been taking afghan lives for many, many years, and this is just one more. Amy let me ask you, the u. S. Is considering President Trump is considering sending thousands more troops to afghanistan. What effect will that have . It will help the Afghan Forces and the Afghan Government not to lose the war. I dont think the troops will help to winhe war. It will probably preve the situation from further deteriorating across afghanistan. And we see fighting across the country, and these troops are meant to be sent different Afghan Military units so they can train and they can watch Afghan Forces in their daytoday operation and help them do the job better. I think that is a good thing. Whether this will change the course, i am not sure. I dont think this will turn degreestan totally 180 by a year or two. And 2018pecting 2017 to be very difficult because these troops, and the fact there is a tension, and it is important for how long these troops will be in the country, will make a difference. Nermeen before we conclude, quickly, can you comment on the significance of this attack as well as the attack that took place in afghanistan on the first day of ramadan . We also know in iraq, in baghdad, there were two massive attacks. Why do a tax increase in this attacks increase in his holy month of ramadan . First of all, i dont believe that terrorists and groups who are in afghanistan no talk about 20 plus of them they. Eally care about rondon or eid we always see attacks happening on such events in such days and such occasions. I dont think this has a lot of impact. This is war and this is over politics and power. He weaky to seek tyhe moment where the Afghan Forces cannot defend enough the country. That is where they hit and where they strike. With seen so many attacks in the month of ramadan in the past years as well, during eid days. Last year to just a couple of attackedre, taliban the kundas province and took over the whole city. 2016, andly, in attack, you lost seven of your colleagues. News, led by you, decided to stay. Your remarkably brave to continue this 24 hour news station headquartered in kabul. Can you talk about this decision to be there on the ground . I dont know what other choices we had, to be honest. We talked to all of our colleagues and over 90 of them were under immense family pressures to quit their jobs. Them in the same and toldided to stay us we should continue firmly and continue with even greater dedication and commitment. I am very proud to be one of them. I think this country has a future. This country has changed significantly. Of this population is under 25. They dream for a better afghanistan. You cant build this country without giving sacrifices for clinging to the reality you have. People of my generation are very committed for a better tomorrow for afghanistan, and we accept sacrifices like today, like the one we had last year, and will probably be even more in the future. Amy lotfullah najafizada, we want to thank you so much for being with us news director for , tolo tv, a 24hour news station headquartered in kabul, afghanistan. They, themselves, lost one of their colleagues today in the suicide bomb strike, which is being described as by a number of news organizations a major car bomb explosion in the Diplomatic Area of kabul that has killed at least 80 people and wounded at least 350 others. This is democracy now we will be back in a minute. [music break] amy this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. We turn now to an iraq were over 50 people were left dead after two suicide bombings. Dozens were injured in the car bomb attacks in the capital baghdad. The first occurred just after midnight after outside an ice cream parlor as families work gathering to break their ramadan fast early on tuesday. Hours later, the second bomb detonated during the morning rush hour near a government building. Isis has claimed responsibility for both explosions saying they targeted gatherings of shia muslims. The attacks come as thousands of families continue to flee mosul amid the u. S. And iraqi militaries campaign to retake the city from isis. As many as seven hundred thousand civilians have already fled moselle amid months of fighting. Amy this comes as a newly declassified pentagon audit released last week which shows the u. S. Army failed to keep track of more than 1 billion worth of weapons and military equipment sent to iraq and kuwait, including tens of thousands of assault rifles and hundreds of armored vehicles. The audit found improper recordkeeping, including duplicated spreadsheets, handwritten receipts and a lack of a central database to track the transfers. The arms and equipment transfers were apart of the iraq train and equip fund, a program that initially appropriated 1. 6 billion under the 2015 National Defense authorization act to help iraqi forces combat the rise of the Islamic State. To discuss these findings, we go to london where were joined by patrick wilcken, Amnesty Internationals arms control and human rights researcher. Patrick, welcome to democracy now talk about what you found and what is pentagon documents reveal. Thanks. Audits a kind of worrying of the whole process of the supply chain of over 1 billion worth of equipment. A lot of it weapons, as you said, going into kuwait and then snaking its way up and through toack to various iraq various army day pose. It found that there was no real centralized information source. Oneu. S. Military at any given point in time could not have an accurate assessment of the quantities and the location of equipment coming in. I think this is especially concerning because we have seen in previous dod audits that the situation is even worse on the iraqi side. Once equipment is handed over to the iraqis, previous reports have shown that the iraqi warehouses are disorganized, even the iraqi officials dont know what is in some of the warehouses. There is an inventoried increment sitting in shipping equip men sitting in shipping crates. Problems and deficiencies. And why we are concerned about this is there is a very long history of leakage of weapons supply to the iraqi army and that leakage is going out to Islamic State and the many, many other groups completely unaccountable armed groups who are committing atrocities and war crimes, not just in iraq, but syria as well. Nermeen can you talk about where you discovered much of this American Military equipment, including assault rifles, among other things, stores in iraq and also for sale online . We have done a lot of systematic work. It is difficult to track individual weapons, but we have been looking at a lot of images and films of Islamic State deploying weapons and also the shia militias that are now grouped under the mobilization units. And we have looked at what type of weapons that they are deploying. They are deploying weapons from all over the world, including fairly recently produced u. S. Weapons. It is important to note u. S. Supplies not just its own weapons, but ships soviet patent intons from Eastern Europe the theater of war in iraq. So there is a very eclectic mix of weapons that is being used by in iraqi army that reappears the arsenals of armed groups, asluding Islamic State and more recent research showed, the various militias that have now been incorporated into the iraqi Army Militias that have themselves been accused of extremely serious human rights violations, executions, and torture, and the like. I think, you know, the problem is serious. It is recurring. Previous audits have highlighted similar problems. Is in great need of Security Assistance and has suffered terribly over the years with the occupation of one third of the country by Islamic State, the wave of suicide bombings we are seeing continuing to affect ,hia neighborhoods in baghdad that assistance has to be provided with care and caution and the appropriate monitoring. Otherwise, the u. S. And other Coalition Members will just be pouring fuel on to the fire. Suggest a previous audits have also highlighted similar problems. What in this case has the pentagon said theyre going to do to confront the situation and to master it . I think it is important to thestorically at this height of the insurgency after 2003. S occupation in the situation really got out of control at that point. The u. S. Was shipped over one million small arms to the iraqi staunch theand insurgency, and they lost track of 190,000 of those weapons. Many of the weapons were not registered at all. There was no system for really understanding what was going in to iraq. And that is the key recommendation from this occurrence reports, is the same as back in 2007. There is a need for a centralized system that incorporates all the information along a very complex supply vast, dealing with quantities of weapons and equipment. And that centralized system has to coordinate all of the various u. S. Armed forces and army bases in the region, not just in iraq, but in the supply centers in kuwait. And without that, it is impossible, really, four the u. S. All of the iraqi authorities to know exactly what is going in, where it is at any given point, and if it is secure, ultimately, or not being siphoned off to these armed havoc that have wreaked and created such human suffering across the country for so many years most of amy patrick wilcken, is as like weapons manufacturers and isis are the beneficiaries of this 1 billion worth of arms and other military equipment that the u. S. And iraq have lost track of. Isis and weapons manufacturers. What about reducing arms sales and the arms flow to the region . I think the situation in iraq is very difficult. There is an acute security problem. The iraqi army did collapse in 2014. And the whole country was horrible vulnerable to groups. Isis was camped on the outskirts of baghdad. There is a key issue to address and part of that is Security Assistance. I think the real problem here is how that assistance is being managed and audited. And without that, we will see that the lessons wont have been learned and this sort of assistance will only come back to haunt future u. S. Administrations. Amy patrick wilcken, thank you for being with us amnesty , internationals arms control and human rights researcher. When we come back, we go to syria and then to a new report from the intercept talking about tigerswan being employed by Energy Transfer partners calling the water protectors the insurgency. Stay with us. [music break] amy benjamin yellow menendez has died at the age of 65. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. Amy we turn now to syria, were the Associated Press reports that the Russian Defense ministry has said a russian warship in a submarine have fired four cruse missiles from the mediterranean to hit Islamic State manpower and equipment you the syrian city of palmyra. This comes as a Monitoring Group says u. S. Led airstrikes killed more than 100 civilians, including 47 children, on thursday and friday in the isisheld town of al mayadeen in eastern syria. The syrian observatory for human rights says the two rounds of strikes targeted the families of isis fighters and that the vast majority of the victims were women and their children. The u. S. Led coalition has acknowledged launching the airstrikes. On sunday, secretary of Defense James Mattis told cbs news face the nation the u. S. Is shifting to annihilation tactics in its fight against isis. Our strategy right now is to accelerate the campaign against isis. It is a threat to all civilized nations. In the bottom line is, were going to move in an accelerated and reinforced manner, throw them on their back foot. We have already shifted from attrition tactic where we show them from one position to , toher in iraq and syria annihilation tactics where we surround them. Amy the United Nations human rights chief has called on all countries operating airforces in syria to take greater care to avoid civilian casualties. The u. N. High commissioner for human rights Rupert Coleville spoke friday. The rising death toll of civilians and injuries to them already caused by airstrikes suggest insufficient precautions may have been taken in the attack. And just because it is isil controlling an area, does not mean less care can be taken, just because it is a particularly unpleasant and horrendous group in charge, it going tomean those wrest control of an area from them should take any less care with civilians living in the area. No mean coke the journalistic Monitoring Group airwars estimates that u. S. Led Coalition Strikes in syria and iraq have killed between 3000 and over 5000 civilians in the past several years with a , significant spike in civilian casualties since january. The coalition has reportedly carried out some 9029 strikes in syria since 2014. Recent attacks have hit civilian targets, including packed schools and mosques. Amy the United States and its allies are now reportedly preparing for a major offensive against raqqa the last urban stronghold of isis in syria raising concerns about increased civilian casualties. For more, were joined by murtaza hussain, a reporter at the intercept whose latest piece is headlined, the u. S. Has ramped up airstrikes against isis in raqqa, and syrian civilians are paying the price. Thank you for being with us. Al start your peace with the aish family. They attempted fleeing raqqa in april and they were unfortunately killed in u. S. Air strike, which killed a number of women and children who were outside the town in the suburbs of rocco. People living in and around extremelyfacing an dire situation of the moment. There targeted from the air and on the ground. Amy you have said, in fact, over 9000 strikes u. S. Has heared out we dont very much about u. S. Airstrikes. Can you give us a sense of how that compares to russia, for instance, about which we hear all the time . In april, the was carried out a cruse missile strike after the chemical weapons attack in a small town in syria, but that was only one of many, many that haveof strikes happened since 2014 by the United States targeting out the Syrian Government, but militant groups in the country. The strikes have killed thousands and thousands of people. The russian government carried out a Brutal Campaign in aleppo to help the Syrian Government regain control of the city. It seems since january, the United States is in some ways copying the russian strategy of ramping up airstrikes with what we have seen in corresponding increase in civilian casualties. The Russian Campaign was very brutal and took place in full view of the world. Were seeing a Similar Campaign by the u. S. As it seeks to take isis out of raqqa. Toy what is your response those who say the u. S. Is actually protecting civilians from isis by attacking raqqa . Civilians are trapped in a desperate situation because isis is brutal towards people, including in raqqa. The u. S. Campaign is supposed to be about liberating civilians and if it operates with wanton disregard for them, killing thousands of people, the moral boundaries start to evaporate because isis is killing these people for fleeing, and u. S. Is killing them, many cases, for also while also trying to flee. Any campaign to protect sillies needs to make sure they are not killed in these attacks. Unfortunately, were seen spiking death for his in syria from these strikes. The only thing you can conclude our the u. S. Is loosening protections around the civilians. Amy tara houska murtaza hussain, they for being with us reporter at the , intercept. His latest piece is called the u. S. Has ramped up airstrikes against isis in raqqa, and syrian civilians are paying the price. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. Dr. We turn now to an explosive new investigation by the intercept that reveals how International Private Security Firm tigerswan targeted Dakota Access water protectors with militarystyle counterterrorism measures. Tigerswan began as a u. S. Military and state department contractor. It was hired by Energy Transfer partners, the Company Behind the 3. 8 billion Dakota Access pipeline. The investigation is based on leaked internal documents, which show how tigerswan collaborated closely with Law Enforcement agencies to surveil and target the nonviolent indigenousled movement. In the documents, tigerswan also repeatedly calls the water protectors insurgents and the movement an ideologically driven insurgency. Amy the intercept also reports tigerswan did not limit themselves to monitoring activists. They also try to change the narrative about them on social media. This is a clip of robert rice, who hosted a series of online videos critical of the pipeline protest Movement Without disclosing that he was working for tigerswan. This clip is from a show that aired under the name defend iowa. As you have probably heard from a group of protesters from Standing Rock formed a cap in iowa county. Their stated goal is to build a camp from 22 people to at least 100 by midsummer. They say they want to develop new ways to fight pipeline. Let us be clear. We are not against peaceful protesting. However, many of the members have been part of the distraction in Standing Rock last year. They have in posting regularly on social media about how they refused to be part of society. That means constantly asking for money and support from locals. Were not here to convince they should not be welcomed did your community, we just want to make you aware of the full situation to keep you informed. You stay inl help the loop on what is happening with this group. Amy that clip of robert rice who worked for tigerswan was discovered by the intercept. For more, were joined by alleen brown who is a reporter with the intercept and lead reporter of the article, leaked documents reveal counterterrorism tactics used at Standing Rock to defeat pipeline insurgencies. A from washington, d. C. , tara houska National Campaigns , director for honor the earth. She is ojibwe from couchiching first nation. Alleen, lay out what you found. Received more than 100 documents from a contractor, alongside number of other informationa public requests that described in detail not only the tactics used by this private Security Firm, which include real surveillance, infiltration of pipeline effortt groups, and an to alter the narrative using the videos like this one featuring robert rice. Amy give us the history of tigerswan. Tigerswan started out as a rival to the mercenary Company Blackwater during the war in iraq. Its employees are largely former special ops military guys. A lot of them coming from delta force. So these guys really came up, you know, thinking of their work as counterinsurgency work. So they think of these water protectors and describe them in the documents as compare them to jihadist terrorists, for example. Nermeen do you know when tigerswan started working with Energy Transfer partners, and whether what you discovered, does it demonstrate that what tigerswan did was in fact illegal . Tigerswan started working with Energy Transfer partners after this incident where another private Security Firm sicced dogs on water protectors. Amy goodman, of course, was there. Amy that was the video we showed from Labor Day Weekend when the water protectors came up on the property where they did not expect to see the Dakota Access pipeline bulldozers, excavating what they called their sacred land, and the security guards unleashed dogs on the water protectors who were biting the people and the horses. Right. So after that, tigerswan came on as sort of manager for all of these various small sticky firms Security Firms involved. They did not even receive a license to operate this Security Firm in north dakota, framing themselves as management and i. T. Consultants rather than saying they provide no security work. Amy after your article was published in the intercept, north dakota indigenous activist and organizer Kandi Mossett posted a picture of a small device on facebook, writing this bug was found under a table in a room at the prairie knights casino in october 2016. I do believe its a violation of some sort for a hotel to bug their rooms. Im sure this belongs to tigerswan. After reading the intercept article i was reminded of this find. I would like to bring in tara houska, with honor the earth. She is ojibwe. Spent a good deal of time at the resistance camps. Your response to both what kandi wrote and found do you know about this but they found . Into the overall article in the intercept. Posting never people about various devices that were discovered, and i heard stories about them when i was at the camps. We were very aware of the fact that we were being surveilled heavily. To see this article come out just basically reinforced and showed, you know, this is what was really happening. There was conspiring happening between Police Officers in a private Security Firm. We were basically being treated as terrorists. This talk about destruction of Standing Rock we were trying to protect Standing Rock, protect the water. Does it validate everything we were saying. Nermeen the article in the intercept sorry, the document that tigerswan prepared for Energy Transfer partners on what was happening at the camp at Standing Rock, it talked about the presence of palestinians that the resistance camp and the movements involvement with islamic individuals. They go want to say that this is a dynamic that requires further examination. Currently, there is no information to suggest terroristtype tactics or operations, however, with the current limitation on information low out of the camp, it cannot be rolled out. Could you comment on that . Throw the documents, we see the narrative, that houses the just we had weapons around camp when this is a completely unarmed resistance to discuss palestinians, try to paint this model of violence in these insurgency tactics. We gained the support from people all over the world. This is a very clear issue of people defending water. Life. Vement was water is so to try and do this, it created in turn this dynamic where as people going out and exercising our constitutional rights, the response was incredibly violent and brutal. And with people being treated as animals, being put into dog kennels, this is a very real thing that happened on u. S. Soil. It is continuous treatment of Indigenous Peoples is the beginning of the relationship with the United States. One of the last Armed Conflict in the u. S. Was with indigenous people, the socalled battle, but massacre, at wounded knee is one of those last moments were the u. S. Used these types of weapons. This is an ongoing thing an ongoing narrative of painting native people as violent. Amy i want to go to one of the documents referenced in the intercept these where aleen report,n an october 3 tigerswan discusses how to use its knowledge of internal camp dynamics. They write exploitation of ongoing native versus nonnative rifts, and tribal rifts between peaceful and violent elements is critical in our effort to delegitimize the antidapl movement. See again a theme we and again in the documents, this noting rift in the movement. And framing that as important to tigerswans efforts at undermining the movement. , if you can respond to this . Tigerswan started by, what, delta force person from delta force, exploiting tensions within the camp and what you experienced of this . Is an entirely new community that was created. People coming together for a united cause, but obviously, coming from all walks of life. There were tensions that existed in camp, but this was a very unified front of people peacefully defending water and peacefully trying to change a narrative and trying to stop this corporate takeover of our ourral resources and continued survival. It does not surprise me at all those tactics were being used, the divide and conquer method come at which has been employed against native people and now movements. They discussed how theyre looking at other pipeline insurgencies. These are trying these are people trying to protect our water and just saying no. It tells us we have to be extremely unified and come together to remind ourselves continuously of what theyre for. Amy is oil flowing through the Dakota Access pipeline . Donald trump says he is against leaks, but not this kind. A carefully, there are been a few leaks and the Dakota Access pipeline. Apparently, there been a few leaks and the Dakota Access pipeline. And ultimatelys outlets, abc, cbs, say President Trump is poised to pull the United States out of the landmark 2015 paris Climate Change deal. Oil flowing at dapl and the Climate Change deal. The Dakota Access pipeline is not operational and it has already had a number of leaks, so oil is not flung in the sense of it being fully ready to go. But leaks are already happening. It is happening before it is even operating. Accord, ithe paris is not surprise hearing from a president that basically said, were going to turn this process into a rubberstamping situation and deregulate all of these resources. It is disappointing and im hoping that other World Leaders step up and hold the u. S. Accountable for this. Amy if it is not operating, how is it leaking . Because they are testing it it is already leaking. Ara houska and alleen brown [captioning made possible by democracy now ] i am lidia bastianich, and teaching you about italian food has always been my passion. I want to always make it prettier and better and tastier, but this doesnt need a single thing. Now its time to learn the basics of the italian kitchen. So join me and master all things italian. Tutti a tavola a mangiare at cento fine foods, were dedicated to preserving the culinary heritage of authentic italian foods by offering over 100 specialty italian products for the american kitchen. Cento trust your family with our family. Grana padano, made with passion for almost 1,000 years, helps bring authentic flavor to meals. Grana padano italian excellence. Theres a party in the air with an italian flair, so stay with me and let me show you how to make the perfan