The Obama administration inherits a foreign policy establishment that has undergone a radical transformation over the last eight years. Two linked developments, the Bush administration’s "freedom agenda" and the resurgence of counterinsurgency doctrine, will cast a long shadow over the Obama White House, State Department, and Pentagon.
While many analysts predicted a rosier picture for U.S.-Iranian relations with the Obama administration, the situation is rapidly becoming profoundly more difficult and more complicated. The new dimension is Russia.
The ratification by popular referendum of Bolivia’s constitution has given President Barack Obama an opportunity to rebuild frayed relations with a nation that perceives itself to be a long-suffering victim of U.S. policies.
Obama’s appointment of George Mitchell as special Middle East envoy may signal a step in the right direction regarding U.S. policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But there remain questions as to whether Mitchell is up to the task and whether the Obama administration is willing to put some muscle into the process.
Detail from “Re-production” by Mladen Miljanovic. Photo by John Feffer. Mladen Miljanovic, who won the prestigious Bell Award in 2007 as the best young visual artist in Bosnia Herzegovina, grew up during the wars that split apart Yugoslavia. He lived in the area of Bosnia that became Republika Srpska. His home was near one military […]
The United States is the largest exporter of arms in the world. Imagine what would happen if we became the largest exporter of the arts instead.
In Gaza, children,
you learn that the sky kills
and that houses hurt.
You learn that your blanket is smoke
and breakfast is dirt.
The rice field birds are too clever for scarecrows,
They know what they love, milk in the grain.
This is the time
to be generous
this is the time to be brave
to watch
how the dove tails up, blinks,
sits tight over invisible eggs
and waits
(Editor’s Note: This is part of a strategic dialogue on U.S. nuclear policy and is a response to this piece.)
We sympathize with Wellen’s desire to see the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) strengthened. However, our core concerns differ markedly from those he addresses. We believe any meaningful nuclear abolitionist politics must be based on broader anti-imperialism. Additionally, while we fear the scenario Wellen lays out — continuing influence of hyper-militaristic right-wing elements — we don’t see this as the most likely, nor the most dangerous, scenario under the coming administration.