In These Times, Huffington Post and ZNetwork.org Oct. 7, 2016
Given the United States’ disastrous record in the Middle East—most critically the invasion and occupation of Iraq—and the manifold lies coming out of Washington to justify its policies, many Americans are understandably skeptical about U.S. interventions and the rationalizations used to defend them. This leads many Americans to oppose both direct intervention in Syria and the arming of rebel factions—and rightly so.
Author: admin
Millennial Apathy and a Possible President Trump
The Progressive September 28, 2016: Despite Hillary Clinton’s shellacking of Donald Trump in Monday’s debate, polls show the presidential race remains disturbingly close.
Putin’s U.S. Defenders
The Progressive September 15, 2016
After experiencing decades of rightwing attacks for being “soft” on Moscow, progressives may be feeling a bit of whiplash as they witness prominent conservatives—with Donald Trump in the lead—heaping praise upon an autocratic Russian leader. Trump has praised President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB operative who tolerates little dissent, for his “very strong control over a country.” Putin has returned the favor by strongly endorsing Trump.
Uzbekistan’s Karimov: The Death of One of Washington’s Favorite Tyrants
Western Sahara-Morocco dispute remains stalemated as federation proposal advanced
Republicans, Democrats alike still level threats at Iran
National Catholic Reporter, August 15, 2016
(Also in the Huffington Post and Common Dreams)
The 2015 Iran nuclear deal should have curbed the longstanding bellicose rhetoric coming from Republican and Democratic political leaders toward the Muslim country. Signed by Iran, the U.S. and five other nations and ratified by the UN Security Council, the comprehensive agreement strictly limits Iran’s nuclear capabilities and subjects Iran to the most rigorous inspection regime in history. The result has been dramatically reduced regional tensions and the elimination of any potential threat to U.S. national security.
Interview: ‘Most Progressive Dem Platform in History’ Hawkish on Foreign Policy
The Progressive, Reddit, BillMoyers.com, July 27, 2016.
Also on WORTFM.org, August 4, 2016
(40-min., Zunes’s analysis segment begins at 11:00)
The Good News and the Bad News About Turkey’s Attempted Coup
Huffington Post & CommonDreams.org July 19, 2016
The survival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Welfare Party of an attempted coup last week is a mixed blessing. Despite the ultra-conservative policies and creeping authoritarianism of the Erdogan regime, Turks from across the political spectrum opposed the coup, which was attempted by a faction of the Turkish military… The good news is the coup’s failure may be a sign that, for the first time in history, Turkey’s elected government has successfully imposed civilian rule over the military… The bad news is that the apparent success in resisting the military may not be used for democratic ends…
Discerning Real from False Claims of Anti-Semitism in the Pro-Palestinian Movement
We Know They Lied about Iraq’s WMDs, but It Gets Worse
The Progressive July 13, 2016: The thousands of American casualties, trillions of dollars of expenditures, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi casualties, and the rise of sectarianism, terrorism, Islamist extremism, and the other negative consequences have been disastrous. But even worse, even if Iraq really did have the proscribed “WMDs”, delivery systems, and weapons programs, the war would have still been illegal and unnecessary. Here’s why…
Fight the Real Enemy: Terrorism, Not Immigration
The Progressive June 29, 2016 & Huffington Post (July 3): British authorities have already reported an alarming spike in anti-immigrant hate crimes since the “Brexit” referendum. Fear of terrorist attacks is causing not just a rise in xenophobia, but an erosion of civil liberties, a rise in anti-Muslim activity, and the threat of further Western military intervention in the Middle East…
Stephen Zunes’ Testimony before the UN conference on decolonization
freedomsupport June 29, 2016: My interest in the dispute over Western Sahara is based not simply upon my belief in justice for that country’s people, but its implications in regard to international law and the principles upon which the United Nations organization is founded. These include the right of self-determination…
Pick Your Poison: Clinton Vs. Trump on Foreign Policy
The Progressive June 15, 2016: Following the Orlando night club massacre, Trump attacked Hillary Clinton for refusing to label the violence carried out by a mentally-disturbed American-born gunmen of Muslim background as a manifestation of “radical Islam”… To her credit, Clinton rejected such bigotry. However, she called for returning to the “spirit of 9/12,” ignoring how that reaction to 9/11 resulted in a major crackdown on civil liberties and preparation for war…
Morocco continues occupation of Western Sahara, in defiance of UN
National Catholic Reporter June 6, 2016: As Morocco continues to defy the UN, the International Court of Justice, and much of the international community in its continued occupation of Western Sahara, the United States continues supporting that autocratic government.
Reasons to oppose the proposed state anti-boycott bill
Santa Cruz Sentinel June 2, 2016: The California State Assembly is considering a bill entitled the “Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions of Recognized Sovereign Nations or Peoples Act” (AB 2844) that could lead to penalizing California businesses that boycott any country or any products from a particular country — even if the product is being made in a colony or occupied territory or if it is made under illegal, inhumane or environmentally deleterious conditions. It would also deny state or local government contracts to sole proprietorships who participate in such boycotts.
Africa’s Last Colony: Western Saharan Independence Movement Mourns Loss of Polisario Front Leader
Defending Israel’s Attacks on Civilians—A Harbinger for Clinton’s Presidency?
The Progressive May 26, 2016 and his May 29 Tikkun column:
Bernie Sanders’ appointees to the platform committee, Cornel West and James Zogby, plan to challenge the party establishment’s uncritical support for an increasingly aggressive, right wing Israeli government… Hillary Clinton has repeatedly gone on record defending the IDF’s conduct.
Turkey’s Creeping Authoritarianism: Is the Resistance Enough?
The Progressive May 13, 2016: Turkey’s march towards authoritarianism took another dangerous turn with the forced resignation of moderate Islamist Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, apparently at the insistence of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan… And he is becoming ever more autocratic.
Berrigan’s witness to nonviolence challenged church and nation
The National Catholic Reporter May 9, 2016
Also at Huffington Post, Corpus-blog.blogspot.com,
and the Resource Center for Nonviolence
Jesuit priest Father Daniel Berrigan, who died at the end of April, not only challenged the conscience of the Catholic church and the nation on the dangers of militarism and the need to affirm Christ’s teachings of nonviolence, he challenged those who oppose war to engage in direct action to stop it… Over the decades, I prayed with him, broke bread with him, was arrested with him, and discussed matters of politics, theology and movement-building. We did not always agree. Yet his warmth, his humor, his faith, his wisdom and his commitment always left me inspired…
Hillary and Bernie Part Ways on Israel
The Progressive April 18, 2016: In last week’s debate… Bernie Sanders reiterated both his longstanding position condemning Hamas rocket attacks on Israel and supporting Israel’s right to self-defense. But he also declared that the killing of nearly 1,500 Palestinian civilians by Israel during that fifty-day conflict represented a “disproportionate” use of force… But Hillary Clinton refused to acknowledge Israel had done anything wrong.