John Feffer of Foreign Policy In Focus interviews professor Stephen Zunes about the role of the U.S. in the world under the Obama administration. Will the U.S. empire roll back or continue on?
Month: March 2009
The Budget’s Foreign Policy Handcuffs
Foreign Policy In Focus/IPS March 20, 2009,
by Emily Schwartz Greco, Stephen Zunes [source]
Hopes that a Democratic administration with an expanded Democratic congressional majority might lead to a more ethical, rational, and progressive foreign policy were challenged with last week’s passage of the 2009 omnibus budget bill, which included many troubling provisions regarding the State Department and related diplomatic functions. http://www.fpif.org/articles/the_budgets_foreign_policy_handcuffs
The U.S. and Afghan Tragedy
Foreign Policy In Focus/IPS February 18, 2009
By Khushal Arsala, Emily Schwartz Greco, Stephen Zunes [source] One of the first difficult foreign policy decisions of the Obama administration will be what the United States should do about Afghanistan. Escalating the war, as National Security Advisor Jim Jones has been encouraging, will likely make matters worse. At the same time, simply abandoning the country — as the United States did after the overthrow of Afghanistan’s Communist government soon after the Soviet withdrawal 20 years ago — would lead to another set of serious problems. http://www.fpif.org/reports/the_us_and_afghan_tragedy
Neocons 1, Obama 0
Foreign Policy In Focus/IPS March 16, 2009
[source] by John Feffer, Stephen Zunes
The Obama administration’s choice to head the National Intelligence Council (NIC) recently withdrew in face of a concerted right-wing attack. Veteran diplomat Chas Freeman would not have had to face Senate confirmation. Instead, he had to face attacks in the right-wing press and blogosphere. His withdrawal was a victory for Bush-era neoconservatives and their allies regarding intelligence and broader Middle East Policy. http://www.fpif.org/articles/neocons_1_obama_0
Presentation: Nonviolent Action in the Islamic World
Dr. Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, discusses the long history of strategic nonviolent action throughout the Islamic world, in the Middle East and beyond. Based in part on the social contract implied in Islamic teachings which advocate the withdrawal of obedience from unjust authority, nonviolent civil insurrections have played a major role in the struggle for freedom and human rights for more than a century. Dr. Zunes, looks at case studies from Iran, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Mali, Western Sahara, Indonesia, Pakistan, and others.
Obama and Israel’s Military: Still Arm-in-Arm
Foreign Policy In Focus/IPS March 4, 2009
by John Feffer, Stephen Zunes | [source]
In the wake of Israel’s massive assault on heavily populated civilian areas of the Gaza Strip earlier this year, Amnesty International called for the United States to suspend military aid to Israel on human rights grounds. Amnesty has also called for the United Nations to impose a mandatory arms embargo on both Hamas and the Israeli government. Unfortunately, it appears that President Barack Obama won’t be heeding Amnesty’s call. http://fpif.org/articles/obama_and_israels_military_still_arm-in-arm