Diplomacy and development as tools for security find a new prominence in President Obama’s first National Security Strategy. Out is the phrase “war on terror”, instead the strategy refers explicitly to combating al-Qaeda and its affiliates. And for the first time fighting the threat of home-grown terrorism receives serious attention, following a number of attempted unsuccessful attacks by American citizens on American soil. The strategy also focuses on Iran and North Korea, saying the US will use multiple means to isolate the two countries over their nuclear ambitions.
The Jamaican government says that at least 73 civilians are now known to have been killed in clashes in the capital Kingston. The Security Forces have been going from house to house in the Tivoli Gardens area of Kingston, searching for Christopher “Dudus” Coke who’s wanted in the US on drug and gun-running charges. Nick Davis has been in Tivoli Gardens.
During a walk-around of the area, I spoke to people in the community. They claimed the military had killed and arrested a large number of innocent people. There were hardly any men. Some 560 people have been arrested in the last few days. There were bullet holes in some of the buildings and trucks have been used to remove the last of the barriers erected by gunmen to stop the Security Forces. The police say they’ve recovered the bodies of 73 civilians and found nearly 8,000 rounds of ammunition.