In hopes of consolidating his power, Iran’s President Ahmadinejad has been distancing himself from the hard-liners.
WikiLeaks XXVIX: West Doesn’t Know What to Do With the New, More Reasonable Ahmadinejad
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Middle East & North Africa
How the Farm Lobby Distorts U.S. Foreign Policy
Thanks to the hard work of the U.S. Farm Lobby, America’s love of cheap food has stretched more than an engorged waistline. It now stretches the limits of American foreign policy.Over the past century, the Farm Lobby’s influence on the U.S. government has increased alongside the consolidation and growth of U.S. agribusinesses, the principle recipients of federal farm subsidies. Now it appears the Farm Lobby’s efforts are hamstringing American national security, as well.
Israel to Rattle Its Saber a Little Less?
When he pushes back the date Iran may acquire nuclear weapons, the retiring Mossad chief is sticking a feather in his cap.
An Opening for Progressives? Obama to Step up Outreach to Africa in 2011
Can Obama change Africa policy as Big Oil and other powerful U.S. companies remain a serious challenge to peace and stability on the continent?
Who Assassinated Iraqi Academics?
By April 2004, just a little over a year after the U.S. invasion of Iraq and before the sectarian violence began, the Iraqi Association of University Teachers (AUT) reported that 250 academics had been killed. Award-winning British journalist Robert Fisk had warned early that year of the assassinations of Iraqi academics, but few U.S. newspapers picked up on the story. By the end of 2006, according to The Independent, over 470 academics had been killed. Another British paper, The Guardian, reported that about 500 academics were killed just from the Universities of Baghdad and Basra alone.
Will U.S. Use Punjab Governor’s Death as Pretext for More Drone Attacks?
While the assassination of Punjab’s governor might be seen as an excuse for more drone attacks in Pakistan, it’s more likely an effect.
Review: It Is What It Is
For three weeks in 2009, Jeremy Deller and a handful of collaborators hauled a burned-up hunk of steel across the United States. This rusted carcass – a car destroyed in a Baghdad marketplace bombing in 2007 – transformed a vast swath of Middle America into a space for discussion about a war in which Washington long ago lost interest. It Is What It Is showcases transcripts of the group’s discussions, photographs from the obscure or eccentric locales where they occurred, and any number of other mementos from the group’s travels.
What Would It Take for Americans to React Like “Gaza Youth Breaks Out”?
“Gaza Youth Breaks Out” set an example by pointing a finger at oppression across the political spectrum.
WikiLeaks XXVII: Ahmadinejad’s About-Face Prompts Slap in the Face
“When it comes to repression, you’re not leaving us holding the bag,” is, in effect, what Iran’s Revolutionary Guard chief conveyed to President Ahmadinejad with his slap.
Inspiring Story of Tunisian Protests Ignored by Washington
Even though President Ben Ali and his wife have used privatization as an excuse to buy up state property at bargain basement prices, the U.S. still supports them.