War

President Barack Obama has sided with Saudi Arabia over the families of 9/11 victims. In an interview with CBS This Morning president Obama condemned legislation that would have allowed family members of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to hold the Saudi ruling family accountable in U.S. courts. Sputnik reports: On Tuesday, President Obama took to the morning cable news circuit to reiterate his vow to veto legislation allowing victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack to sue Saudi Arabia, arguing that it would expose the United States to similar lawsuits.

ISIS militants have executed 250 women for refusing to engage in ‘sexual jihad’ with their fighters since Iraq’s largest city Mosul fell into their hands in early June 2014. Under the pretext of Shariah law women are forced to submit to sexual slavery through temporary marriage otherwise they could face harsh penalties for refusing. Abna24 reports: A Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) official from Mosul, Said Mamuzini, said that life is too hard for the women in Mosul due to the ISIS strict rules imposed on them.

William Hartung chides the Obama administration for trying to buy Saudi goodwill with weapons:

One justification that has been put forward for the continued flow of weaponry from the United States to Saudi Arabia is that it provides reassurance to the kingdom’s leadership that Washington won’t tilt toward the Iranians in the wake of the deal reached last year over Iran’s nuclear program. But if demonstrating a commitment to the Saudi government entails supporting deadly and reckless initiatives, like the war in Yemen, the policy is not worth the price.

Can you believe it? We’re in the last year of the presidency of the man who, on his first day in the Oval Office, swore that he would close Guantánamo, and yet it and everything it represents remains part of our all-American world. So many years later, you can still read news reports on the ongoing nightmares of that grim prison, ranging from detention without charge to hunger strikes and force feeding. Its name still echoes through the halls of Congress in bitter debate over what should or shouldn’t be done with it. It remains a global symbol of the worst America has to offer.