Foreign Policy In Focus by Stephen Zunes, September 20, 2001
[Source] Key Points:
* The massive terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, have placed the threat of terrorism on the front burner and have exposed the failure of the U.S. government to protect its citizens.
* The U.S. is using the threat of terrorism to justify a series of controversial policies, including tougher immigration laws, high military and intelligence budgets, and restrictions on civil liberties.
* Terrorism is rooted in political problems requiring political solutions and necessitating a major reevaluation of U.S. foreign policy as a whole…
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Don’t Bomb Afghanistan
Alternet September 19, 2001 by Stephen Zunes [source]
It appears that the United States is preparing for a major military strike against Afghanistan. There is no question that the United States needs to respond forcefully to bring the perpetrators of last week’s terrorist attack to justice and to prevent future attacks. A large-scale military action against that country, however, would be a big mistake. We are not fighting a government with clear fixed targets, such as command and control centers, intelligence headquarters or major military complexes. A loose network of terrorist cells does not have the kind of tangible assets that can be seriously crippled by military strikes…
Dangerous Times for U.S. Foreign Policy
Alternet September 14, 2001 by Stephen Zunes [source]
The tragic events of September 11 have brought out both the best of America and the worst of America. The former is represented by the heroism of the rescuers, the thousands of people lining up to donate blood, and the response of the religious community through prayer vigils and memorial services. The latter is represented by the jingoism, militarism and xenophobia exhibited from the street to the talk shows. Early indications are that U.S. foreign policy in the aftermath of the attacks is going to be most effected by the latter…
U.S. Policy Toward Political Islam
Alternet.org, September 12, 2001, by Stephen Zunes The perceived growth of radical Islamic movements throughout the Middle East and beyond has not only caused major political upheaval in the countries directly affected but has placed political Islam at the forefront of concerns voiced by U.S. policymakers. One unfortunate aspect of this newfound attention has been the way it has strengthened ugly stereotypes of Muslims already prevalent in the West. This occurs despite the existence of moderate Islamic segments and secular movements that are at least as influential as radicals in the political life of Islamic countries. Even though the vast majority of the world’s Muslims oppose terrorism, religious intolerance, and the oppression of women, these remain the most prevalent images of the Muslim faith throughout the Western world. Such popular misconceptions about Islam and Islamic movements—often exacerbated by the media, popular culture, and government officials—have made it particularly difficult to challenge U.S. policy.
U.S. Shouldn’t Fight Violence With Violence
Baltimore Sun and Common Dreams,
September 12, 2001 by Stephen Zunes
[Source] Terrorism is not rational, but an emotive reaction by frustrated and angry people. Yet the common reaction to terrorism is often no less rational, no less a reaction by a frustrated and angry people. It would behoove this great nation not to respond to yesterday’s terrorist attack on America in ways that would restrict civil liberties, particularly if the terrorists are from an immigrant community. Already, analogies are being drawn to Pearl Harbor, which resulted in the internment of tens of thousands of loyal U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry…
The United States and Bolivia: The Taming of a Revolution, 1952-1957
The United States and Bolivia: The Taming of a Revolution, 1952-1957. Latin American Perspectives Vol. 28 No. 5 (September 1, 2001): 33-49. Also at SAGE Journals, JSTOR, ResearchGate.net, University of Saskatchewan, and FES.DE/bibliothek
Death Squad Democrats
Foreign Policy In Focus by Stephen Zunes August 1, 2001 [source]
Last Tuesday, Israeli forces murdered Isaac Saada outside of his home in Bethlehem. He was the father of ten and a beloved teacher at Terra Sancta, a RomanCatholic school in that West Bank city. Saada was actively involved with the peace education program of the Israeli-Palestinian Center for Research and Information. The day he was buried, he had been scheduled to take part in a joint seminar with Israeli teachers on improving understanding and cooperation between the two peoples…
U.S. Policy on the UN Conference Wrong
Foreign Policy In Focus by Stephen Zunes, August 1, 2001 [source]
The United States, the self-described leader of human rights, effectively decided to boycott the UN conference against racism in Durban, South Africa. The U.S. could have made a strong, positive impression by sending its African-American Secretary of State, a descendent of slaves, and making a forceful stand against racism. Instead, it chose to send a low-level delegation. What allegedly prompted the U.S. position were two relatively minor agenda items…
U.S. Aid to Israel: Interpreting the “Strategic Relationship” (audio)
Report from a CPAP briefing by Stephen Zunes Jan. 26, 2001
Also at: The Internet Archive, ThirdWorldTraveler.com
WindowintoPalestine.blogspot.com & Palestine Center.
“The U.S. aid relationship with Israel is unlike any other in the world,” said Stephen Zunes during a January 26 Palestine Center presentation. “In sheer volume, the amount is the most generous foreign aid program ever between any two countries,” added Zunes… He explored the strategic reasoning behind the aid, asserting that it parallels the “needs of American arms exporters” and the role “Israel could play in advancing U.S. strategic interests in the region”….
Audio: The Evolution of U.S. Policy on Jerusalem: International Law versus the Rule of Force
For the Record No. 80, 2 August 2001
[Source & Audio, 40 mins.] July 26, 2001, by Stephen Zunes
“Recent moves by the Clinton and the current Bush administrations regarding Jerusalem have surprised even the most cynical observers of U.S. foreign policy for their disregard of … international legal conventions and their departure from the stated positions of their previous administrations,” said Stephen Zunes at a 26 July 2001 Center lecture. Zunes … explained the U.S. has become increasingly accepting of Israel’s unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem, which is in violation of international law…
Western Sahara
Western Sahara By Stephen Zunes June 1, 2001 [source is no longer available]
History: Traditionally inhabited by nomadic Arab tribes with a long history of resistance to outside domination, the area known as Spanish Sahara was occupied by Spain during much of the twentieth century and held for more than a decade after most African countries achieved their independence. The nationalist Polisario Front launched an armed independence struggle against Spain in 1973, and Madrid eventually promised to grant independence…
Overview of Self-Determination Issues in the Middle East
By Stephen Zunes June 5, 2001, SelfDetermine.irc
[source is no longer available]
As in much of the third world, many of the national boundaries of the Middle East and North Africa are artificial creations of the colonial era. Because most of the region’s inhabitants are Muslim Arabs and thanks to relatively high tolerance levels for minorities in traditional Islamic societies, the denial of self-determination has not been as widespread as in many parts of the world. Still, disputes in the Middle East involving people struggling for the right of self-determination remain some of the most dangerous and intractable conflicts in the world today. The Ottoman Empire ruled most of the Middle East for nearly five centuries. Religious minorities were granted a high level of self-governance, including their own court systems…
http://selfdetermine.irc-online.org/regions/mideast.html
UN Betrayal of Western Sahara
Foreign Policy In Focus, June 1, by Stephen Zunes [Source & Global Policy Forum]
When a country violates fundamental principles of international law and when the UN Security Council demands that it cease its illegal behavior, one might expect that the world body would impose sanctions or other measures to foster compliance. This has been the case with Iraq, Libya, and other international outlaws in recent years. One would not expect for the United Nations to respond to such violations by passing a series of new and weaker resolutions that essentially allow for the transgressions to stand…
Palestine: History, Actors, Prospects & the U.S.
Palestine: History, Actors, Prospects & the U.S. June 1, 2001
Foreign Policy In Focus By Stephen Zunes [no source available]
History: The land long considered by many Jews of the diaspora as their homeland had also been inhabited for centuries by Palestinian Arabs. Zionism emerged in Europe during the late 19th century as a movement for the ingathering of Jews to their ancestral land, with immigration increasing during theBritish mandate period following the demise of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. A 1947 UN plan that would have partitioned Palestine in half, granting both Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs their own states, resulted in a war that led to Israeli control of 78% of the country. The remaining Palestinian areas, which became known as the West Bank and Gaza Strip, came under Jordanian and Egyptian control. The new state of Israel expelled the majority of the Palestinian population…
The Failure of U.S. Policy Toward Iraq and Proposed Alternatives
Foreign Policy In Focus by Stephen Zunes, Jue 1, 2001 [source]
Current U.S.-UN policy regarding Iraq has failed and has largely lost credibility. It is widely viewed internationally as reflecting U.S. (and, to a lesser degree, British) insistence on maintaining a punitive sanctions-based approach regardless of the humanitarian impact and it is increasingly regarded as having failed to bring about either democratic changes in Iraq or security for the Persian Gulf region. Numerous countries are challenging, if not directly violating, the sanctions regime, and international support has largely eroded. The U.S. is the driving force behind UN policy, since Washington wields effective veto power over any proposed changes…
Western Sahara (Conflict Profile)
Selfdetermine.irc-online.org, June 1, 2001,
By Stephen Zunes [source is no longer available]
History: Traditionally inhabited by nomadic Arab tribes with a long history of resistance to outside domination, the area known as Spanish Sahara was occupied by Spain during much of the twentieth century and held for more than a decade after most African countries achieved their independence. The nationalist Polisario Front launched an armed independence struggle against Spain in 1973, and Madrid eventually promised to grant independence…
Mitchell Report on Israeli-Palestinian Violence Flawed
Foreign Policy In Focus by Stephen Zunes, May 1, 2001 [source]
The report on the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict by the commission led by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell is a failed effort–not for what it includes but for what it does not include. The report’s recognition that the Palestinian Authority needs to do more to curb violence from the Palestinian side and the call for Israel to end its widespread use of lethal force against unarmed demonstrators is self-evident. Yet its failure to call for an international protection force underscores the commission’s unwillingness to support the decisive steps necessary…
U.S. Arrogance on Display in UN Human Rights Commission Flap
Foreign Policy In Focus by Stephen Zunes, May 1, 2001
[Source] The decision by the U.S. Congress to withhold $244 million in dues owed to the United Nations only builds upon the growing global perception of U.S. arrogance. In recent days, both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have placed themselves to the right of even the Bush administration in their sharp anti-UN rhetoric…
Challenging Aid to Israel
Lockerbie Verdict Unlikely to Bring Change
Foreign Policy In Focus by Stephen Zunes, February 1, 2001
[Source] The guilty verdict against Libyan intelligence operative Abdel Baset Ali Mohamed Al-Megrahi may have finally established guilt in the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland in 1988, yet it will not usher in a new era for U.S.-Libyan relations. Perhaps, however, it will lead the new Bush administration to re-evaluate the failed anti-terrorism policies of recent administrations…