All Commentaries
Guest Work Won’t Stop Migrant Deaths
The 14 undocumented Mexican migrants found dead on May 24 after their smuggler abandoned them in the scorching desert near Yuma, Arizona, are among the most recent of more than 600 casualties due to border patrol strategies that have upped the risks of illegal immigration since 1994. These strategies squeeze Mexican workers into the most dangerous crossings in the mountains and deserts of California and Arizona, and into the proverbial Valley of Death.
Has Israeli Occupation Become Legal in the 21st Century?
This past eight months of bloodletting between Israelis and Palestinians is no more than an additional, exhausting chapter in a decades old conflict that seems today more polarized than ever. When Israel invaded the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem in 1967, the occupation of Palestine was born. With this birth came a second Palestinian Diaspora (the first was in 1948 when Israel was established) and the reality that an entire population–1.2 million Palestinians–would become totally controlled by the Israeli military. Over three decades later, no one expected to see the occupation enduring, or to see Palestinians still able to resist.
The Failure of U.S. Policy Toward Iraq and Proposed Alternatives
Current U.S.-UN policy regarding Iraq has failed and has largely lost credibility. It is widely viewed internationally as reflecting U.S. (and, to a lesser degree, British) insistence on maintaining a punitive sanctions-based approach regardless of the humanitarian impact and it is increasingly regarded as having failed to bring about either democratic changes in Iraq or security for the Persian Gulf region. Numerous countries are challenging, if not directly violating, the sanctions regime, and international support has largely eroded.
China’s Political Succession: Four Myths in the U.S.
As the Bush administration struggles to craft a coherent policy toward China, important developments within China are also taking place that may influence the trajectory of U.S.-China relations. One of the most important developments is the jockeying within the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over the leadership transition that will take place at the 16th Party Congress scheduled for September 2002.
The CIA’s Worst-Kept Secret: Newly Declassified Files Confirm United States Collaboration with Nazis
“Honest and idealist … enjoys good food and wine … unprejudiced mind …”
U.S. Arrogance on Display in UN Human Rights Commission Flap
The decision by the U.S. Congress to withhold $244 million in dues owed to the United Nations only builds upon the growing global perception of U.S. arrogance. In recent days, both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have placed themselves to the right of even the Bush administration in their sharp anti-UN rhetoric.
Closing the Latin American Air-Bridge: A Disturbing History
Closing the Latin American Air-Bridge:
Alternative Development Won’t End Colombia’s War
Washington’s contribution to Plan Colombia has been widely criticized for its emphasis on interdiction and aerial eradication at the expense of alternative development in the areas where coca and opium poppy are grown. Alternative development, as conceived in Plan Colombia, is offered to small farmers (those with less than three hectares of coca) who voluntarily eradicate their illegal plants within twelve months in exchange for credit, technical advice, and marketing assistance as they switch exclusively to legal crops or the care of livestock. Although the bulk of alternative development funds go to crop substitution, infrastructure improvements in roads, potable water, sewerage, electricity, education, and health services are also planned for the long term. Critics of Plan Colombia, such as the European Parliament, have called for increased spending on rural infrastructure and social programs as an alternative to the military buildup currently underway. The Bush administration seems to be responding positively to these critiques, and has proposed more spending on alternative development in the Andean region.
Coming of Age in Colombia: “No Podemos Perder La Esperanza”
When I think about Colombia, I think about its music and dances–vallenato, porro, bambuco, cumbia, salsa, merengue, son. I dream about its food, landscapes, exotic species, and variety of climates. I smell the coffee and remember the beautiful colors of its emeralds and flowers, mountains and beaches. I also think about its people–Costeños, Pastusos, Bogotanos, Paisas, Santandereanos, Llaneros, Caleños, Indian, black, mulatto, and mestizo. I think about the people who work hard in cities and farms in order to provide for their families, persons who love watching soccer with their friends, who enjoy family life, and who dream of a better life in the future.
End U.S. Support for Egyptian Repression
The quick conviction on Monday in a political court of Dr. Saad El-Din Ibrahim and 27 associates is a serious blow against Egypt’s burgeoning pro-democracy movement. It also raises serious questions about continued U.S. military and economic aid to the increasingly authoritarian regime of Hosni Mubarak.