[Foreign Policy In Focus, “Z” & Alternet] Hardliners in Tehran are not happy with the recent rapprochement between the United States and Iran and the related progress in negotiations to address Western concerns about the Iranian nuclear program. But the bigger threat may come from hardliners in the Washington, including prominent Democrats. [See the FPIF LINK, or Alternet, and the follow-up op-ed, Congress seeks to undermine Obama’s rapprochement with Iran
in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Nov. 15, 2013.]
Month: October 2013
Interview: Commentary on the OPCW and the Nobel Peace Prize
Institute for Public Accuracy October 27, 2013
Nobel Prize for OPCW: Examining Both Organizations,
Institute for Public Accuracy October 11, 2013
STEPHEN ZUNES, Professor of politics and chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco, wrote the piece “The U.S. and Chemical Weapons: No Leg to Stand On.”Syria and the likely disastrous consequences that would have resulted.”
US Invasion of Grenada: A 30-Year Retrospective
Truthout October 25, 2013 and republished by
The Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW21)
On this anniversary, it would be worth looking back at the Grenadian revolution, the U.S. invasion, its aftermath and the important precedent it set for “regime change” through U.S. military intervention…
The Deteriorating Situation in Libya (audio)
On China Radio International October 22, 2013
The kidnapping and brief detention of the Libyan prime minister Ali Zeidan a couple of weeks back probably marked one of the lowest points for the civilian government in this vast country where, in the post-Gaddafi lawlessness, the situation seems to deteriorate by the week. It was also probably the point which showed the world just how prominent and daring these militias and various tribes are.
[The source link and recording for this item are
no longer available. Find best related links.]
The 2013 Nobel Prizes Explained (video)
October 21, 2013 Video (90 min.). University of San Francisco, UC Berkeley, and UCSF professors explain the scientific contributions of the 2013 Nobel prize recipients. Aparna Venkatesan, Stephen Zunes, Teresa Head-Gordon, Dean Rader, Jason Fernandes, Jesse Anttila-Hughes.
Maintaining U.S. presence in Afghanistan would bolster Taliban: expert says
Tehran Times October 19, 2013
On October 12 Washington and Kabul agreed on a draft deal that would keep some U.S. forces in Afghanistan after 2014, but only if political and tribal leaders in Afghanistan agree to a U.S. demand that U.S. troops not be subject to Afghan law…
The Maldives: a serial coup in progress?
Open Democracy October 15, 2013
Should Britain, the United States and others who claim to be concerned, stand by and allow reactionary forces to stage-manage a phony election, this sends yet another inconsistent and disheartening message to those struggling for peaceful democratic change in the Islamic world and beyond. In the latest episode of what appears to be a serial coup in the Maldives, the country’s Supreme Court… threw out the results of the first round of presidential elections just hours before the scheduled date of the second round in which pro-democracy leader Mohamed Nasheed was expected to win handily…
The Nobel Committee’s Rebuke to Washington’s Unilateralism
Foreign Policy In Focus October 11, 2013
The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), one of the most effective instruments for international arms control, sends an important message to those who have insisted that unilateral military action is the best means to eliminate and prevent the use of these deadly agents.
Interview: Chemical Weapons Watchdog Wins Nobel Peace Prize as U.S. Opposes Calls for WMD-Free Middle East (Video)
Democracy Now October 11, 2013; Video & Transcript
As the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons wins the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize, we look at international efforts to rid Syria and other countries — including the United States — of chemical weapons. Transcript
On Syria, most thoughtful people are torn
Open Democracy October 5, 2013
Indeed, with the exception of some neo-conservatives and other hawks who apparently have never seen an opportunity for western intervention they didn’t like and some on the far left who assume that any regime hostile to western imperialism must be progressive, I’ve generally been impressed with the maturity of the debate around Syria. Most thoughtful people are torn on these questions, myself included. Once again, however, Hashemi misrepresents me…