Category: Source
Washington and the Egyptian Tragedy
The vast majority of Egyptians killed since the coup have been unarmed protesters struck down with American-made weapons by soldiers transported in American-made vehicles provided by the American taxpayer.
Interview: The Impact of Drone Strikes on Yemen (audio)
Uprising Radio August 12, 2013: Obama has escalated the U.S. unspoken war on the Gulf Arab state of Yemen with 9 drone bombing raids in 10 days killing about 3 dozens Yemenis… apparently in response to an Al Qaeda terrorist…
Banned in Phoenix: How the Arizona State Bar Association Considers Analysis of International Law in the Middle East Too Controversial
This past week, the Arizona State Bar Association (SBA) held its annual convention. It appears that the ban on my participation is still in effect.
It was exactly ten years ago that the session in which an academic paper I was scheduled to present on the application of international law in conflicts in the greater Middle East was abruptly cancelled just two weeks before its scheduled presentation at the 2003 convention. No one in the organization?s leadership could explain anything objectionable in the paper, which they acknowledged they had not actually read, but were apparently convinced by a right-wing campaign that I was ?anti-Israel? and ?anti-American.?
Managing Repression (video)
NonviolentConflict.org
Dr. Stephen Zunes emphasizes the international impact of repression, specifically how nonviolent responses in the face of brutal repression makes it easier to isolate the oppressive regime, whereas violent resistance, even where seemingly justifiable, could be seen as rationalizing further repression in the name of ?national security? or ?counter-terrorism.? He also addresses the importance of nonviolent discipline in encouraging defections by security forces and divisions within the regime.
Progressives Flock to Ed Markey’s Senate Campaign Despite Hawkish Record
Democratic Congressman Ed Markey of Massachusetts is heavily favored to win the June 25 special election to fill the US Senate seat in Massachusetts vacated by John Kerry’s appointment as Secretary of State. Markey’s campaign has received widespread and enthusiastic backing from the progressive community, including endorsements from groups such as Peace Action and Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) which have previously tended to formally endorse only a selected number of candidates who have strong records on peace and human rights.
This nearly unprecedented level of support comes despite the fact that – even though he comes from one of the most liberal states in the country – Markey’s foreign policy record is well to the right of the majority of Democrats, both in Massachusetts and nationally.
US policy weakens Iran’s pro-democracy movement
[Santa Cruz Sentinel & Transnational.org, Also National Catholic Reporter,May 31, 2013, updated Sept. 11, 2018While there are contending factions vying for the country’s relatively weak presidency, the narrow ideological spectrum within which candidates are allowed to run offers little hope…
Israel, Syria and the United States
An op-ed piece published on Truthout.org about Israel’s attack against Syria on May 6th, 2013
The U.S. and Chemical Weapons: No Leg to Stand On
Foreign Policy In Focus/Institute for Policy Studies, May 2, 2013 [Republished by Alternet, Ander Niews Week (Netherlands), Common Dreams, Greanville Post, Huffington Post and the Middle East Institute]
Don’t Blame the Iraq Debacle on the Israel Lobby
Given the enormous tragedy of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the war’s tenth anniversary has inevitably raised the question of ?why?? As many of us predicted in the lead-up to the war, the official rationales for the U.S. invasion of Iraq?namely, that Iraq possessed ?weapons of mass destruction? and had operational ties to al-Qaeda?were false. And the corrupt, inept, and repressive sectarian government the United States helped establish in Baghdad has undermined any pretense that the war was about democracy.
10 years after the Iraq invasion, Washington still hasn’t learned
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.
Democrats Share the Blame for Tragedy of Iraq War
Here on the tenth anniversary of the Iraq War, it is important to remember that it was not just those in the Bush White House who were responsible for the tragedy, but leading members of Congress as well, some of whom are now in senior positions in the Obama administration. The 4,500 Americans killed, the far larger number permanently wounded, the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed and millions 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 throughout much of the world 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)
DU Center for Middle East Studies
Professor 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.