Despite limited evidence, the United States painted Anwar al-Awlaki as a terrorist mastermind and executed him without the trial to which he was entitled as a U.S. native.
Troy Davis and al-Awlaki: Two Murders, One Outrage
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Human Rights
Review: No Word for Welcome
Because of its resource wealth and strategic location, southeastern Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehantepec has for centuries been subject to the destructive ambitions of colonial powers. The Trans-Isthmus Megaproject is just the latest in a series of schemes to transform the narrow strip of land, which stretches from Salina Cruz on the Pacific to Veracruz on the Caribbean, into a first-class commercial route.
Boxed in on the Middle East
The past week has seen the United States effectively relinquish its role as the key negotiator of Middle East peace as the Palestinians, ignoring President Barack Obama’s entreaties, announced their decision to pursue UN membership and be recognized as an independent state. One of the key reasons for Obama’s failure to bridge the Mideast divide has been domestic politics—the power of U.S. “pro-Israel” factions, encouraged by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to threaten the administration’s base if he strays too far from the Israeli line.
The Politics of Nuclear Crisis and Renewable Energy in Japan
On August 26, 2011, Prime Minister Kan Naoto resigned from office after a tempestuous fifteen months in power. Since May 2011 a virtual lynch mob egged on by the media bayed for his resignation. Kan’s ouster became an obsession of the nation’s powerbrokers. This article examines why, in the midst of an unprecedented cascade of disasters, natural and nuclear, the Kan problem trumped all others.
Wambui Otieno’s Mau Mau
Although she was never elected to parliament, Wambui is one of the few ex-Mau Mau who rose to public prominence in post-independence Kenya. As a young, Christian Kikuyu girl, Wambui, who was distantly related to Jomo Kenyatta, joined the Mau Mau at the start of the Emergency in 1953 as a scout and urban guerrilla, moving through the ranks until she had taken all 15 warrior oaths. In many instances she reported directly to the movement’s War Council. After the Mau Mau effectively lost the war in 1956, Wambui became a member of the resurgent trade union movement and worked closely with Tom Mboya and other trade unionists, becoming notorious for her activism against the colonial government.
In the End, Will Iran’s Nuclear Plans Be Decided by — Cancer?
Iran’s need for uranium for medical purposes may make it amenable to compromise over its nuclear program.
Michele Bachmann “Blames” Obama for Arab Spring
In claiming President Obama “laid the table” for the Arab Spring, Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann suggests that it hurt the United States.
U.S. Congress a Standard Bearer for Israeli Expansion
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen introduced a bill calling for the U.S. to end its financial support for both the Palestinian Authority and the UN if the latter granted it statehood.
When Creation Myths Converge: U.S. and Israeli Colonialism
Both the United States and Israel use selective memories to justify their actions and find common ground in their expansion narratives.
Pentagon Still Denies Agent Orange Stored on Okinawa During the Vietnam War
The Pentagon’s refusal to acknowledge that Agent Orange was stored on Okinawa endangers the health of both local Okinawans and American service members currently stationed on the island.