All Commentaries
Challenging the Myths about the Failure of the 2000 Camp David Talks
U.S. Arms Transfers and Security Assistance to Israel
U.S. press coverage of Israeli attacks on the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian towns on the West Bank often treat the U.S. government as either an innocent bystander or an honest broker in the current conflict, often without giving a full sense of the importance of the U.S. role as a supplier of arms, aid, and military technology to Israel. In its role as Israel’s primary arms supplier, the United States could exert significant potential leverage over Israeli behavior in the conflict, if it would choose to do so.
Too Much is Never Enough: Bush’s Military Spending Spree
Forget that the Bush administration is sending U.S. troops to train local forces in Yemen, the Philippines, and Uzbekistan, and that since September 11th the U.S. has stepped up military aid to Turkey, Pakistan, India, Jordan, and a number of countries who are “with us” in the war on terror.
A U.S. Cabal Pulling America to War
Sometime this fall, probably before the mid-term elections, the U.S. will probably be at war with Iraq. But why are we headed to war in the Mideast? Not because Iraq is engaged in terrorism. According to the CIA, it isn’t. Not because Iraqi arms threaten our security. According to most arms inspectors, Iraq is essentially disarmed.
Taming the Nuclear Monster
Ariel Sharon, Take A Bow
Let’s hear it for Saddam Hussein’s most important comrade–the man who has done more than anyone else to frustrate George Bush’s big push on Baghdad. Take a bow, Ariel Sharon.
Sharon’s War
In his televised address to the Israeli public following another deadly suicide bombing in Haifa, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared that once again Israel has no other choice but to wage war. As the military activated 20,000 army reservists, the largest number since the Israeli invasion of Lebanon–another unnecessary war masterminded by Sharon–the Israeli leader promised that this war will be a widespread, prolonged, and bloody campaign.
The U.S. Hit List at the United Nations
Quietly, and without the fanfare that accompanies the campaign in the mountains of Afghanistan, the administration has begun a long march through multilateral institutions. At the UN and elsewhere, the U.S. has mounted a campaign to purge international civil servants judged to be out of step with Washington in the war on terrorism and its insistence that the U.S. have the last word in all global governance issues.
Finding America’s Voice in the Middle East
As U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell continues his special focus on the Middle East it is possible that his message, like that of the U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and U.S. special envoy Anthony Zinni, may be lost. America is clearly turning up the volume with the presence of such high-level American officials in the region. The problem, however, is not one of amplification, but rather of credibility and clarity. Until America finds its own voice in the Palestinian-Israeli dispute, it is unlikely that America’s voice will be heard or heeded in the Arab world.
U.S. Shadow Over Venezuela
Regardless of the final outcome of the recent military coup and counter-coup in Venezuela, two things are clear: Venezuela is not just another banana-oil republic; and the United States has, once again, deeply damaged itself in Latin America.