The Dark Side - IPS's coverage of terrorism / IPS Inter Press Service

IPS Correspondent Gareth Porter talks to Real News.

The U.S. military establishment believed they could easily pressure President Obama to back down on his pledge to withdraw troops from Iraq within 16 months. Having found Obama unconvinced by their argument, they have now launched a campaign in Washington to blame Obama's withdrawal policy for any future instability in Iraq.

OP-ED
Arab Autocrats Aiding Resurgence of Terrorism
By Dr. Emile Nakhleh*
WASHINGTON - The rising spectre of terrorism in Syria shows that by clinging to power and refusing to implement meaningful reforms, Arab autocrats in Syria, Bahrain, and elsewhere are indirectly contributing to the resurgence of terrorism in their societies.
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War Widows Turn to Sex Work in Sri Lanka
By Feizal Samath
COLOMBO - On May 18, some 800 women in Sri Lanka’s northern region will hold Hindu religious ceremonies for the welfare of thier husbands who disappeared or surrendered to the military as it moved in to mop up nearly three decades of armed Tamil separatism.
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U.S. Treasury Claim of Iran-Al-Qaeda "Secret Deal" Is Discredited
By Gareth Porter*
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Treasury Department's claim of a "secret deal" between Iran and Al-Qaeda, which had become a key argument by right-wing activists who support war against Iran, has been discredited by former intelligence officials in the wake of publication of documents from Osama bin Laden's files revealing a high level of antagonism between Al-Qaeda and Iran.
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U.S.-Afghan Pact Won't End War – Or SOF Night Raids
Analysis by Gareth Porter*
WASHINGTON - The optics surrounding the Barack Obama administration's "Enduring Strategic Partnership" agreement with Afghanistan and the Memorandums of Understanding accompanying it emphasise transition to Afghan responsibility and an end to U.S. war.
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U.S Government Admits to Drone Attacks
By Carey L. Biron
WASHINGTON - In a major address here Monday, John Brennan, the U.S. official in charge of counterterrorism, formally admitted that the United States engages in attacks using armed unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly referred to as "drones".
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U.S. Escalating Drone War in Yemen
By Jim Lobe*
WASHINGTON - Even as President Barack Obama touts his progress in extracting the U.S. from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, his administration appears to be deepening its covert and military involvement in strife-torn Yemen.
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‘Anti-Terror’ Laws Haunt Pakistan’s Unionists
By Irfan Ahmed
LAHORE - As International Labour Day approaches, rights groups in Pakistan are redoubling their efforts to win freedom for six incarcerated union leaders in Faisalabad, the country’s textile hub, who are currently serving a combined jail term of 590 years for supposedly violating the country’s ‘anti-terror’ laws.
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U.S. Patriot Act Kept Somalia Starving
By Linus Atarah
HELSINKI - When war-torn Somalia was also ravaged by a drought-induced famine last year, which killed tens of thousands and displaced over a million people, international media was quick to blame the Islamist Al-Shabaab for blocking humanitarian assistance from reaching its zone of control in southern Somalia.
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Taliban Attacks Weaken U.S., NATO Position
By Jim Lobe*
WASHINGTON - Sunday's well-orchestrated - if unsuccessful - attacks by Taliban forces on Kabul and three provincial capitals in eastern Afghanistan could further shake ebbing public confidence in the U.S. and its allies that their strategy for securing Afghanistan is working.
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U.S. Withdrawal a Blessing and a Curse for Afghans
By Giuliana Sgrena
KABUL - Though the United States’ announcement to pull its troops from Afghanistan by 2014 was celebrated by most Afghans as the imminent end of a protracted and controversial foreign occupation, there are lingering questions about the outcome of such a withdrawal.
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New Leaders in Yemen, Same Old System
By David Elkins
WASHINGTON - A new report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) Friday contends that the dearth of meaningful reform in the protection of human rights and the rule of law in Yemen threatens political stability as the fledgling transitional government copes with a deteriorating economy and continued violence.
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To Hell With Suicide Bombers, Not Heaven
By Ashfaq Yusufzai
PESHAWAR - Suicide bombers act in the name of Islam – but clerics deny them even last rites over such killing of others and themselves that they see as un-Islamic.
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Turkey's Ex-Army Chief on Trial for Coup Plot
By Correspondents *
DOHA - Ilker Basbug, Turkey's former army chief, has gone on trial on charges of leading a terrorist group accused of plotting to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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Terrorism, and the fight against it, has become all too common in today's news agenda. Reporting news often involves skimming facts from a minefield of propaganda generated on both sides. To find out the facts and reasons behind terrorism, its consequences and the reactions it generates from all over the world, read IPS's global coverage of terrorism.