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Syria and Chemical Weapons (audio)
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Don’t Blame the Iraq Debacle on the Israel Lobby
Santa Cruz Sentinel March 29, 2013 | UPDATED: Sept. 11, 2018
[Republished by Foreign Policy In Focus/Institute for Policy Studies and Truthout] This month’s 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq raised the question why the U.S. made such a tragic choice. As many of us argued in the lead-up to the war, claims that Iraq possessed “weapons of mass destruction” the Iraqi government had operational ties to al-Qaida were false. Similarly, the corrupt and repressive sectarian government the U.S. helped establish in Baghdad has undermined any pretense the war was about promoting democracy.
10 years after the Iraq invasion, Washington still hasn’t learned
National Catholic Reporter, March 27, 2013
This month marks the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which has resulted in the deaths of up to half a million Iraqis, mostly civilians, and the displacement of millions of others. Sectarian and ethnic tensions remain high and violence and terrorism — despite being less pervasive than a few years ago — are endemic. The current Iraqi government is notoriously corrupt and repressive, guilty of widespread torture and extrajudicial killings of opponents. A whole new generation of Islamist terrorists radicalized by the invasion and insurgency is now active worldwide. Almost 4,500 Americans were killed and thousands more received serious physical and emotional injuries…
Democrats Share the Blame for Tragedy of Iraq War
Truthout.org March 17, 2013: On this tenth anniversary of the Iraq War, it is important to remember the 4,500 Americans killed, the far larger number permanently wounded, the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed and millions maimed or displaced, the trillion dollars of US taxpayers’ money squandered (and the resulting cutbacks through sequestration), the continued costs of the war through veterans’ benefits and interest on the national debt, and the anti-American extremism in reaction to the invasion and occupation which has spread. All could have been avoided if the Democratic-controlled Senate hadn’t voted to authorize this illegal and unnecessary war and occupation.
The Arab Spring, Two Years Later (video)
March 12, 2013: DU Center for Middle East Studies Professor Stephen Zunes discusses the current state of the Arab world in the wake of the 2011 uprisings, the strength and successes of non-violent sociopolitical movements in the region, and the corresponding shifts now required of U.S. foreign policy. [YouTube link]
Hillary Clinton’s Legacy as Secretary of State
Truthout February 7, 2013
Hillary Clinton leaves her position as Secretary of State with a legacy of supporting autocratic regimes and occupation armies, opposing enforcement of international humanitarian law, undermining arms control and defending military solutions to complex political problems. During her eight years in the U.S .Senate she was an outspoken supporter of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, lied about Iraq’s military capabilities to frighten the public into supporting the illegal war, unleashed repeated attacks against the UN, opposed restrictions on land mines and cluster bombs, defended war crimes by allied right-wing governments and largely embraced Bush’s unilateralist agenda.
The Mali Blowback: More to Come?
Foreign Policy In Focus February 1, 2013
[Republished by Transnational.org & ZNetwork]
The French-led military offensive in its former colony of Mali has pushed back radical Islamists and allied militias from some of the country’s northern cities, freeing the local population from repressive Taliban-style totalitarian rule. However, despite these initial victories, it raises concerns as to what unforeseen consequences may lay down the road. Indeed, it was such Western intervention—also ostensibly on humanitarian grounds—that was largely responsible for the Malian crisis in the first place…
Interview: The Case Against Kerry (video)
The Real News Network, January 14, 2013
Also see associated articles and Zunes’s interviews on CBS-KDKA Pittsburgh, the Peter Collins Show, and two Zunes articles from Institute for Public Accuracy: Clinton and Kerry (February 1, 2013) and Kerry’s Judgment Questioned Because of Pro-War Vote (December 21, 2012)
With all the attention on the nomination by President Obama of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense, there hasn’t been quite as much discussion about his nomination of John Kerry for Secretary of State. I guess that’s partly because he seems rather beloved by the Republicans and is likely to get passed without much issue. But there are issues, according to our next guest, Stephen Zunes… [YouTube]
Anti-Iraq War Speech on C-SPAN (video)
C-Span January 23, 2013. The source link and recording are no longer available. Find best related links.
Israel’s settlements outside official border flout international law
National Catholic Reporter January 19, 2013
In mid-December, Israeli officials approved plans for the construction of more than 2,600 new homes to be built on Givat Hamatos, a hill on the outskirts of Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem. This settlement would be the first major new Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem outside of Israel’s internationally recognized borders since 1997…
Interview: The Threat of Western Military Intervention in Mali (audio)
The Scott Horton Show January 11, 2013
In part 1, Zune discusses the threat of Western military intervention in Mali; the next generation of Islamic extremists motivated by Saudi-funded madrassas and the U.S. occupation of Iraq; and the non-governmental militias fighting for the spoils in Libya.
The Case Against Kerry
Foreign Policy In Focus January 3, 2013
[Republished by Antiwar.com, Common Dreams, the Institute for Historical Review, Transnational.org; and associated interviews]
President Obama’s selection of John Kerry as the next secretary of state sends the wrong signal. His record in the U.S. Senate, where he currently chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, has included spurious attacks on the International Court of Justice, unqualified defense of Israeli occupation policies and human rights violations, and support for the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Furthermore, his false claims about Iraqi “weapons of mass destruction” and his repeated denials of well-documented human rights abuses by allied governments raise serious questions about his credibility.
Supporting Nonviolence in Syria
Foreign Policy December 20, 2012, by Stephen Zunes
[Also at Truthout.org and International Center for Nonviolent Conflict]
While a growing number of people are calling for increased military aid to armed insurgents or even direct military intervention, as the French government has said it will consider, to support the armed opposition would likely exacerbate the Syrian people’s suffering and appear to validate the tragic miscalculation by parts of the Syrian opposition to supplant their bold and impressive nonviolent civil insurrection with an armed insurgency…
U.S. policy on Gaza crisis rife with contradiction
National Catholic Reporter December 19, 2012
The Obama administration’s reaction to last month’s Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip is emblematic of its policy contradictions.
Susan Rice Would Have Been a Bad Secretary of State Anyway
Foreign Policy In Focus/Institute for Policy Studies,
December 17, 2012, By Stephen Zunes.
The mainstream media was too willing to focus on spurious criticisms of Susan Rice from the right while ignoring legitimate criticisms from the left. U.S. UN Ambassador Susan Rice’s announcement she would withdraw her name from consideration to be the next Secretary of State is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it marks yet another example of the Obama administration’s failure to defend its appointees [and] On the other hand, Rice’s lack of support for international humanitarian law and her willingness to state demonstrable falsehoods…
Abetting the Carnage in Gaza
Foreign Policy In Focus/Institute for Policy Studies, November 26, 2012
The Obama administration’s unconscionable decision to block a ceasefire effort by the UN Security Council not only resulted in additional civilian deaths but also serves as an indication that, despite the president owing his re-election to the hard work of his progressive base, his foreign policy will continue to lean to the right. Related links.
Behind the Headlines: the CIA and Post 9/11 National Security with NY Times Reporter Eric Schmitt (audio)
NPR/The Commonwealth Club November 19, 2012; Podcast & MP3
Stephen Zunes moderates this lively exchange with Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times senior writer Eric Schmitt on military, terrorism and national security challenges in the post-9/11 world.
Can U.S. Citizens End Israel’s Legal Impunity?
YES! Magazine November 21, 2012. Republished by Baltimore Nonviolence Center, Common Dreams, Transcend.org and Transnational.org: The great wish of the early Zionist leader Theodor Herzl was that Israel would be treated like “any other state.” Were that the case, there might be more rational and productive discourse regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is particularly critical in light of Israel launching yet another devastating attack against civilian-populated areas.
Syrian Conflict Turns Into Full Blown Civil War (audio)
Uprising Radio October 29, 2012: Government forces in Syria today launched their heaviest air strikes yet during the 19-month-long conflict… A tenuous ceasefire, Eid was violated from the very first day… At least 30,000 people have been killed in the ongoing conflict that has been now officially described as a “full-blown civil war.” A seriously fractured opposition is seen as one major stumbling block in efforts to efficiently counter the Syrian regime of Bashar Al Assad.