All Commentaries
No Military Solution in Mali, Emira Woods Says
“There cannot be a military solution to this crisis in Mali,” said Emira Woods, co-director of Foreign Policy in Focus at IPS. “The crisis has its roots in political and also economic processes.”
Orientalizing Rape
The coverage of the Damini case has sparked a lively debate about how the Western media portrays rape culture abroad.
Iran’s Survival Strategy
The extent and depth of Western sanctions on Iran reveal that they are geared toward inflicting economic hardships on ordinary Iranians in the hope of inciting public discontent and possible revolts. But whether these crippling sanctions will meet their ostensible political goal of changing Iran’s nuclear posture is a different story.
Nuclear Weapons Are Not Only a Threat to Our Survival, But to Democracy Itself
Understanding the implications of nuclear weapons may be too much for us mere mortals.
Afghanistan’s Forgotten Refugees
In 2008, Seyed Hasan, a father of 6, fled his home in the Wardak province of eastern Afghanistan. Hasan’s family applied for refugee status in Turkey, but their initial claim was rejected. Over four years later, the family was finally granted refugee status. But their situation did not improve.
History — Not to Mention Reality — Aren’t on Assad’s Side
Syrian President Assad is also losing the public relations war.
The Pentagon as a Global NRA
In the U.S., the National Rifle Association (NRA), an ultra-powerful lobbying group closely allied with weapons-making companies, has a strong grip on Congress — it gives 288 members of that body its top “A-rating” — and is in a combative relationship with the White House. Abroad, it’s so much simpler and less contested. Beyond U.S. borders, the reality is: the Pentagon, with the White House in tow, is the functional equivalent of the NRA, and like that organization, it has been working tirelessly in recent years in close alliance with major weapons-makers to ensure that there are ever less controls on the ever more powerful weaponry it wants to see sold abroad.
Postcard from Lebanon
Conversation on the streets of Beirut since the bombing in October has a familiar vocabulary, one reminiscent of 2005 when Rafic Hariri was assassinated.
At Least Being Railroaded Isn’t as Bad as Being Waterboarded
John Kiriakou’s life is being overturned for what amounts to an indiscretion at worst.
The Great Oil Swindle
A slew of widely hyped reports last year promised a new oil boom for the United States. But while there’s plenty of oil left in the ground, actual peer-reviewed studies make it clear that peak oil is already upon us.