Afghan police rape, kill, says Oxfam

THE standard of Afghanistan's security forces is slowly improving but they still stand accused of human rights violations such as rape, murder and torture, according to a new study.  http://www.smh.com.au/national/afghan-police-rape-kill-says-oxfam-20111002-1l3wu.html

FLASHBACK: Gun store owner had misgivings about ATF sting

When federal agents with Operation Fast and Furious told Andre Howard to sell weapons to illegal purchasers, he complied, but he feared someone would get hurt. Then a border agent was shot.  http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/11/nation/la-na-atf-guns-20110912

FLASHBACK:Agent: I was ordered to let U.S. guns into Mexico

(CBS News) 
WASHINGTON - Federal agent John Dodson says what he was asked to do was beyond belief.
He was intentionally letting guns go to Mexico?
"Yes ma'am," Dodson told CBS News. "The agency was."
An Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms senior agent assigned to the Phoenix office in 2010, Dodson's job is to stop gun trafficking across the border. Instead, he says he was ordered to sit by and watch it happen.
Investigators call the tactic letting guns "walk." In this case, walking into the hands of criminals who would use them in Mexico and the United States. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/03/eveningnews/main20039031.shtml

U.S. Republicans submit resolution supporting Israel's right to annex West Bank

Adding insult to injury!

U.S. Representative Joe Walsh (R-IL), introduced on Monday a resolution (with 30 co-sponsors) to support Israel’s right to annex the West Bank in the event that the Palestinian Authority continues to push for vote at the United Nations.
“We’ve got what I consider to be a potential slap in the face coming up with the vote in the UN, which is absolutely outrageous,” Walsh told Politico website last July. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-republicans-submit-resolution-supporting-israel-s-right-to-annex-west-bank-1.385394

Congress Sees Middle East Through AIPAC-Colored Glasses

During August recess this year, 81 members of Congress went on a junket to Israel funded by the Israel lobby group AIPAC (well, funded by the American Israel Education Fund, but they are really one and the same) to “ learn first-hand about one of our closest friends and allies.”
While the representatives insist they got a balanced view, their itinerary belies that claim: 95% of their time was spent hearing the Israeli government point of view, with only one token meeting with Palestinian reps.
CODEPINK has filed a complaint with the Congressional Ethics Committee stating that these trips—and the upcoming ones scheduled for December–violate the Congressional prohibition on traveling with a lobby group.http://theintelhub.com/2011/09/18/congress-sees-middle-east-through-aipac-colored-glasses/