Truthout July 10, 2017Interviewed Dr. Zunes
SZ: “Most credible academics and journalists on the
left, while varying to some degree in their analyses, generally agree
that the Syrian regime is horrifically repressive and not particularly
progressive by any measure. There is also a consensus that the bulk of
the armed opposition is dominated by reactionary Salafist
extremists and that the largely nonviolent movement that first emerged
in 2011 had strong progressive and democratic elements, but has largely
been crushed. Further, the U.S. and other outside powers (Saudi Arabia,
Turkey, Qatar, Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, Britain, France, etc.) should
not be bombing, sending arms, providing troops or contributing to the
carnage….”
Category: Source
Trump’s Support for Punishing Qatar Is Misguided
The Progressive & Huffington Post June 16, 2017: The decision by the Saudis and allied dictatorships to sever ties with Qatar and impose draconian sanctions on the tiny nation has precipitated a major regional crisis, and President Trump’s support has made matters even worse.
Erdogan Can Celebrate the Turkish Referendum—For Now
Declaring victory in the recent plebiscite granting him extraordinary powers, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan consolidated his authoritarian rule. A new constitutional amendment abolishes the country’s parliamentary system and gives the once-weak executive almost unlimited authority. It passed in the midst of a state of emergency imposed after last year’s coup attempt. [This item’s no longer available]
Syria: What You Need to Know
WORT-FM April 17, 2017 (57 mins.): Last week, Syria launched a chemical weapons attack, killing more than 80 people. President Trump responded with an ordered airstrike on a Syrian airbase. What led to this conflict? What participants are in play, and what do we need to know?
Trump’s Dangerous and Cynical Attack on Syria
The Progressive & Huffington Post April 7, 2017: Trump’s proposed budget would make major cuts to programs that provided relief to Syrian refugees and has tried to bar any refugees from entering the U.S.
Why These Missile Strikes Won’t Make Things Better for the Syrian People
YES! Magazine, Common Dreams & Huffington Post April 7, 2017
The U.S. bombing of Syria’s Al Shayrat air base has brought more death and destruction to that country and is unlikely to deter additional war crimes by the Syrian regime. It will not ease the suffering of the Syrian people. But then it wasn’t actually meant to.
The United States and Israel: An Alliance or a Protection Racket
Pro-Palestinian activism faces suppression on Catholic campuses
Fordham ban of Palestine group contradicts free speech, Jesuit values
Panel discussion on Trump’s foreign policy agenda
[This audio recording is no longer available.]
The president says the world is in trouble, and the US is going to straighten it out. The EU says the new administration is putting into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy. There are at least question marks over relations with China, Iran and other Muslim-majority countries, Russia, Japan, Mexico, and now Australia. There is the prospect of better relations with Russia, Israel and the UK. Trump meanwhile says that virtually every country in the world is taking advantage of the US. What does this all mean in practice? Will the US realign its place in the world, and is that a good thing? Is there a ‘grand strategy’?
Panetta’s first foreign policy vote sides with Trump
Once Again, Democrats Blow It on Middle East Peace
Foreign Policy In Focus January 11, 2017: In the first major foreign policy vote of the new Congress, most Democrats sided with Trump — and against international law — on Israeli settlements.
Hope fades for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
National Catholic Reporter January 10, 2017 The election of Donald Trump may mark the end of any realistic hope of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And don’t expect the Democratic Party to try to save it, it appears.
Obama’s Support for International Law Draws Bipartisan Ire
The Progressive December 29 2016
Here’s one way to look at it: The United States was the only country in the fifteen-member U.N. Security Council that did not support a resolution passed last week criticizing Israel for continuing to expand illegal settlements in the occupied territories.
Trump’s Frightening Picks for U.S. Policy in the Middle East
The Progressive December 22, 2016
Among the many disturbing appointments by President-elect Donald Trump are the people charged with conducting U.S. policy in the Middle East. Trump’s ignorance of the region will make him even more dependent on his advisers than most Presidents. And that’s not good news.
New Lebanese president’s career highlights US inconsistencies
National Catholic Reporter November 28, 2016
There are more than a few ironies regarding the Oct. 31 election by the Lebanese parliament of former Gen. Michel Aoun, a Maronite Catholic who received his military training in the United States, as the country’s new president. One of the most striking is his shifting allegiances and the inconsistencies of U.S. policy toward Lebanon.
Overcoming Bitterness and No Longer Assuming the Worst of Democrats
National Catholic Reporter November 28, 2016
For decades, I have been obsessed with exposing the Clintons and like-minded Democratic politicians’ dangerous foreign policies, challenging liberal naiveté that ignores or excuses such hawkish proclivities, and underscoring the need to withhold support until they embrace more responsible positions. What I am belatedly discovering, as this campaign season is drawing to a close, is that while such concerns are not without merit, such efforts have ended up contributing to what may be an even bigger problem: the anger, frustration, cynicism, self-righteousness, isolation and other self-defeating tendencies on the left.
Anti-war movement must listen to voices within Syria’s civil war
From Gaza to Aleppo: A Handy Guide for Defending War Crimes
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.
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.