Commentaries Archives - Page 265 of 837

The Goldstone Report: Killing the Messenger

by John Feffer, Stephen Zunes | Oct 7, 2009

On October 1, the Obama administration successfully pressured the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva to drop its proposal to recommend that the UN Security Council endorse the findings of the Goldstone Commission report. The report, authored by renowned South African jurist Richard Goldstone, detailed the results of the UNHRC’s fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict. These findings included the recommendation that both Hamas and the Israeli government bring to justice those responsible for war crimes during the three weeks of fighting in late December and early January. If they don’t, the report urges that the case be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for possible prosecution.

Poem, ‘When I was Torn by War’

by Sinan Antoon, Melissa Tuckey | Oct 6, 2009

When I was torn by war I took a brush Immersed in death And drew a window On war’s wall I opened it Searching For something But I saw another war And a mother Weaving a shroud For the dead man Still in her womb Baghdad, 1990

From Killing Fields to Fields of Dreams

by John Feffer, John Perra | Oct 6, 2009

Poem, ‘Dear Legislators’

by Frances Payne Adler, Melissa Tuckey | Oct 5, 2009

Dear legislators in Capitol City, sweating in stone buildings this Session, searching for cash and coins for clinics and coronary bypass machines, for bandages and bedpans, searching inside books and briefs and file cabinets. Surely you've looked everywhere, but what...

Send Bosworth to North Korea

by Christine Ahn, John Feffer | Oct 5, 2009

The Return of the Non-Aligned Movement?

by Anton Caragea, John Feffer | Oct 2, 2009

In 1955, when the founding fathers of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held their first meeting in Bandung, Indonesia, the role of the new organization seemed pretty clear. In a world still recovering from the ravages of World War II, the Soviet Union and United States had embarked on a new kind of military and political confrontation: the Cold War. The place of a non-aligned movement was to keep the two opposite blocs in equilibrium and prevent the cold war from turning hot.

Decision Point: Afghanistan

by John Feffer, Erik Leaver | Oct 1, 2009

Note: This is part of a strategic dialogue on Afghanistan. You can see Ed Corcoran’s piece here.

For years, the war in Afghanistan has been in crisis. But now with a failed Afghan election, the resurgence of the Taliban as a political power, NATO allies withdrawing from the battlefield, and Pakistan’s tribal areas under increasing influence from the Taliban and al-Qaeda, the situation looks worse than ever. Obama and his team are spinning their wheels trying to devise a policy to right the sinking ship, but the most sensible solution, for Afghans and U.S. citizens, is to start planning a way out.

Why Afghanistan

by Ed Corcoran, John Feffer | Oct 1, 2009

Note: This is part of a strategic dialogue on Afghanistan. You can read Erik Leaver’s piece here.

A major U.S. effort in Afghanistan makes no sense in its own right: a faraway country with very limited resources and a history of hostility to invaders. But Afghanistan was intimately involved with the World Trade Center attack — a major psychological blow to the American people, and that has given Afghanistan a major psychological tie in U.S. minds. The present focus on Afghanistan, as articulated by President Barack Obama, "has a clear mission and defined goals — to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda and its extremist allies."

Casino Capitalism as Usual

by Mark Engler, John Feffer | Sep 30, 2009

Last week’s Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Pittsburgh brought together leaders from the most significant players in the global economy and charged them with renovating the financial system at the heart of the economic crisis. Change was on the agenda, and the heads of state claimed to deliver. As the summit concluded, The New York Times hailed the meeting’s final statement as a momentous shift, reporting that "Leaders of G20 Vow to Reshape Global Economy."

The Hayden Letter

by John Feffer, John Prados | Sep 29, 2009

Former CIA director Michael Hayden played a key role in organizing support among his predecessors for the letter a group of them sent last week demanding that President Barack Obama end or curtail the Justice Department investigation into abuses by CIA interrogators during the Bush years. This initiative comes on top of months of active campaigning during which Hayden pressed the same point from every soapbox he could find.