The Obama administration set a bad precedent by launching a surprise war for regime change in Libya without congressional authorization or informed public debate, in violation of the letter and spirit of the War Powers Resolution enacted by Congress in 1973.
It is a particularly pernicious form of cultural imperialism for comfortable Western leftists to disregard what the actual Tunisians, Libyans, Kosovars, or Bosnians themselves have asked for – intervention to stop “their” rulers killing them. This setting aside of the wishes of people threatened with massacre in favor of Western armchair anti-imperialism is all the more remarkable coming from the left, which once swore by internationalism.
Arthur Waskow is a rabbi who founded and directs The Shalom Center in Philadelphia, a prophetic voice in Jewish, multireligious, and American life. He is the co-author of The Tent of Abraham and Freedom Journeys: The Tale of Exodus and Wilderness Across Millennia. He was also a resident fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies from 1963 to 1977. As part of our special focus on Islamophobia, he talks here with Foreign Policy In Focus about how to counter Islamophobia through interfaith dialogue and the religious tradition.
Two decades after Gulf War Syndrome reared its ugly head, depleted uranium is still being used by the U.S. military.
Regime change in Syria is an appealing idea, but Islamists stand ready to fill the vacuum in power.
On the eighth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, U.S. fighter planes took off to start yet another military action — this time, in Libya. A recent Gallup poll found that only 47 percent of Americans approved of military action in Libya, the lowest level of support for military intervention in 40 years. At the same time, U.S. President Barack Obama has sent Congress a budget that includes $1.2 trillion dollars for military and security expenditures. Clearly, Americans are weary of war, especially during an economic crisis that has threatened jobs, health plans, and pensions most families need to survive.
No one covering WikiLeaks has been able to keep up with the Nation’s Greg Mitchell.
Severing the ties that bind disarmament and nonproliferation is not only bad policy, it’s an offense against common sense.
Even if Gaddafi is provided exile, U.S. and NATO airstrikes on Libya could still lead to our extended presence there.
The last U.S. nuclear weapons deployed in Europe may be on their way home, ending more than 50 years of their deployment abroad. A new report on the future of these weapons shows that 24 NATO members seek to end deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe or will not block a NATO consensus decision to remove them. Only three countries are holding out, and only one is actively trying to break the emerging consensus. The coming months will be decisive for the future of the 200 or so U.S. nukes in Europe.