Trying to track—let alone make sense—of recent developments around Iran is enough to make one reach for that stuff they just found lots of in Afghanistan: lithium.
Seed of Destruction: Nuclear ‘Pits’
The nuclear pit is the weapon’s core. The Obama administration seeks to fund their continued construction. Do we really need more? Or any?
Reader Challenge: Trade Flotilla Investigation for Blockade?
Israel intends to ease the blockade on Gaza in exchange for American support for a whitewash of the investigation into the Flotilla incident. Is this nothing more than appeasement?
Loose Oil Is a Way of Life in West Africa
Big oil spills are no longer news in Africa. The Niger Delta, where the wealth underground is out of all proportion with the poverty on the surface, has endured the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez spill every year for 50 years by some estimates
Protesters Speak Out Against U.S. Support for Ethiopian Government
Nearly 200 protesters gathered in front of the White House on the afternoon of June 14 to denounce continued U.S. support for Ethiopia’s incumbent regime. Chanting in native Amharic and rallying around the Ethiopian flag, the crowd members were predominantly from DC’s sizable Ethiopian diaspora.
Poking a Stick Into the Honor Killing v. Domestic Violence Debate
Is it wise to sweep honor killings under the general heading of domestic violence? Does something get lost in translation?
What Does Gary Brooks Farber’s Quixotic Mission Say About the Rest of Us?
Bin Laden’s crime may have been a form of blowback. But why do Americans show little interest in bringing him, if still alive, to justice?
Leave Afghanistan and Declare bin Laden Dead in One Fell Swoop
What if we not only left Afghanistan but declared bin Laden dead? (The burden would be on jihadis to prove he’s alive.)
Reader Challenge: Do Burma’s Generals Just Need a Little Love and Understanding?
Sanctions can’t truly be targeted. If they’re directed at Burma’s generals, they just pass them along to the people. In fact, the most dire human rights violation in Burma is crushing poverty.
Question: Will Lithium Be Good For Afghanistan?
Imagine the Pentagon officials supposedly part of the team that discovered significant mineral wealth in Afghanistan spelunking about in pith helmets with their little rock hammers.