AltWeeklies Wire
Juan Cole: Afghanistan 'Needs a Light Touch'new
"You just have to accept that there's going to be a certain amount of disorder in the countryside as long as people are organized tribally. And if you put 100,000 or 150,000 Western troops in there, that's just more people to feud with."
Metro Times |
Curt Guyette and W. Kim Heron |
11-17-2009 |
War
Understanding North Koreanew
For years, the activists at the Korea Policy Institute have been trying to influence US policy toward North Korea. Finally, Washington may be listening.
East Bay Express |
Kathleen Wentz |
11-04-2009 |
International
The Afghan War: Too Illegit to Quit
Eight years. We've been in Afghanistan longer than any other war in American history. The party of the president who invaded Afghanistan has been repudiated at the polls. Yet we still haven't altered the flawed strategy that allowed uneducated tribesmen with outdated weapons to defeat us year after year.
Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's Impotent Dictator
How many Americans will continue to see Hamid Karzai as viable -- and be willing to continue to pay the price of propping him up?
Obama Gets it Wrong on Afghanistan
The president's recent interview with Canada's CBC television network demonstrates that he doesn't know much about Afghanistan. But that isn't stopping him from talking about it -- even while he escalates America's war there.
Obama's Weasel Words on Iraq
Obama promises to redeploy "combat troops" from Iraq. In practice, however, there's no difference between "combat troops" and "advisers." Four years from now, Americans will still be fighting, killing and dying in Iraq.
Falling Oil Prices Raise the Pressure on Irannew
Unlike the quasi-effective Security Council sanctions of the past, the U.S. and its allies finally have good leverage on Iran. It would be a diplomatic misfortune if the next U.S. president could not see that in this time of peril, there could also be a moment of promise for peace in the Middle East.
Ventura County Reporter |
Jesse Aizenstat |
12-08-2008 |
International
Waging a PR War at Guantanamonew
U.S. officials are working hard to convince journalists that the military commission trial of Canadian Omar Khadr is fair. This is quite a feat given that Khadr is heading into a courtroom without a full investigation of charges that he was interrogated without access to legal counsel and under torture.
NOW Magazine |
Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine |
11-03-2008 |
War
Is There a Foreign Policy Bright Side to the Economic Crisis?new
The sinking economies of the West are dragging the price of oil down with them. For car-driving Americans, lower fuel prices mean a few extra bucks in our pockets each week. That's good news. Even better news: Lower oil prices mean a few extra billion dollars not pouring into the bank accounts of oil-rich countries like Venezuela.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Andisheh Nouraee |
10-29-2008 |
International
Iraq's Democracy is on Shaky Foundationsnew
Iraq really does have a kind of democracy now, even if the price was very high. But it is a democracy built on shaky foundations, and one of the shakiest bits is the relationship with the United States.
NOW Magazine |
Gwynne Dyer |
10-27-2008 |
International
Canada's Afghan Pullout Bluesnew
The prime minister's promised 2011 exit is in jeopardy from a shifting U.S. geo-strategy.
NOW Magazine |
Paul Weinberg |
09-08-2008 |
War
Political Bickering Could Start a New Cold Warnew
There is still no good reason to have a new Cold War, and I still think it won't happen. But as the politicians posture and the stupidities accumulate, I'm less sure than I was that it won't happen.
The Georgia Straight |
Gwynne Dyer |
08-29-2008 |
International
13 Days in August: The Polish Missile Crisis
Why is the Bush Administration trying to provoke war with Russia?
The Georgian Debacle Could Break NATOnew
If the U.S. pursues its goal of bringing Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, there are only three options. If "old Europe" digs in its heels and refuses, then either the U.S. drops its demand, or NATO breaks up. The third alternative is that "old Europe" agrees to let the two former Soviet republics join -- but with the unspoken reservation that they will never actually go to war with Russia to protect them.
The Georgia Straight |
Gwynne Dyer |
08-20-2008 |
International
Retired Russian Army Colonel Criticizes U.S. Actions in Iraq Even as Tanks Roll in Georgianew
Yuri Yuryevich, also a former journalist, says the idea of Russian censorship was concocted by the West -- investigative journalism no problem as long as president isn't criticized.
L.A. Weekly |
Steven Leigh Morris |
08-18-2008 |
International
