Category: Foreign Policy

Russian aggression, US hypocrisy and is UAE a safe haven for oligarchs?

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The Progressive, March 1, 2022: There’s No Justification for Russia’s Aggression, But U.S. Double Standards on Illegal War Are Hard to Stomach: Nothing can excuse Putin’s invasion, but the hypocrisy could hardly be more striking.
Al Jazeera quotes Zunes March 7, 14 and 29
*The limits of Iran’s influence on Yemen’s Houthi rebels
*Analysis: Can the UAE be a safe haven for Russian oligarchs?
*Can Russia return to the world stage as other aggressors have?
Find more at Western-Sahara.org.

Western Sahara: Oberlin Club of Washington, DC

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January 24, 2022 Zoom: The UN and the World Court have called for the Sahrawi population to be allowed the right of self-determination. The U.S. meanwhile, remains the only country in the world that formally recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. The presentation is timed with the release of the second revised expanded edition of Professor Zunes’ book Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution, and his return from visiting Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria. Professor Zunes will assess the human rights situation under the Moroccan rule, the nonviolent and armed resistance to the occupation, U.S. policy, and more. Find more at Western-Sahara.org.

Biden’s Dangerous Refusal to Reverse Trump’s Western Sahara Policy

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Foreign Policy In Focus, Jan. 21, 2022: In his final weeks in office, President Donald Trump stunned the international community in formally recognizing Western Sahara as part of Morocco. Morocco has occupied much of its southern neighbor since 1975, when it invaded and annexed the former Spanish colony in defiance of the United Nations Security Council and a landmark ruling of the International Court of Justice… Find more at Western-Sahara.org.

Harry Reid’s Hawkish Foreign Policy

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The Progressive Jan. 3, 2022, by Stephen Zunes [source]
The death of former Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid of Nevada has evoked praise for his parliamentary skills passing some critically important legislation and preventing passage of some seriously problematic bills. However, Reid not only failed to challenge dangerous Republican foreign policy initiatives that violated fundamental principles of international law and human rights, he was often among their most prominent supporters.

Biden and Other Democrats Helped Colin Powell Spread George W. Bush’s Iraq Lies

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Truthout, Oct. 19, 2021, by Stephen Zunes [source]
While the death of former Secretary of State and retired Gen. Colin Powell has elicited praise-filled eulogies in the mainstream media and officials in Washington, many Americans still carry bitter feelings over Powell’s support for the illegal, unnecessary and predictably disastrous war in Iraq. In particular, critics cite his February 2003 speech before the UN Security Council in which he put forward a litany of demonstrably false statements in making the case that Iraq had compiled a dangerous arsenal of “weapons of mass destruction” and was actively supporting the al-Qaeda terrorist network.