War & Peace Archives - Page 336 of 673 - Foreign Policy In Focus

Just Nuclear Disarmament

by John Feffer | Jun 29, 2007

Some said Kim Jong Il was crazy. Others declared that he was canny. When the North Korean leader pushed his country through the door of the nuclear club in October 2006 with the explosion of a nuclear device of unknown size and technical capability, he certainly shook up the international community. Observers feared that the explosion would trigger a new arms race in East Asia. Japan could turn its plutonium stockpile and nuclear know-how into an arsenal in as little as six months. South Korea and Taiwan would follow suit, and China would enlarge its rather small supply of strategic weaponry. The regime established by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in the late 1960s, which discouraged but didn’t entirely prevent new entrants to the nuclear club, would be dead—and Kim Jong Il’s fingerprints would be all over the murder weapon.

Just Climate Policy

by John Feffer | Jun 29, 2007

Topon Mondal doesn’t drive a big car. The temperature inside his home often rises above 100 degrees, but he never runs an air conditioner. In fact, living in a hut and laboring by hand, the Bangladeshi farmer doesn’t contribute very much at all to global warming. Still, climate change has already transformed his life. He used to grow rice and vegetables, as his father did, in the village of Munshiganj, about 55 miles from the Bay of Bengal in thesouthwestern corner of the South Asian country. Then the sea levels began to rise and salt leached into the groundwater beneath Topon Mondal’s village. The rice and vegetable harvests—which had helped to feed his family, his village, and his country—began to decline. Mondal switched to shrimp farming. Virtually all the shrimp harvest, however, now goes overseas. “The shrimp are far too valuable for us to eat,” he says.

Just Security: Misconceptions and Recommendations

by John Feffer, Foreign Policy In Focus | Jun 27, 2007

With its emphasis on military solutions, the Bush administration has insisted that we focus just on security. We must focus instead on a just security, because there can be no real security without justice.

The Rise of Hamas

by Emily Schwartz Greco, Stephen Zunes | Jun 22, 2007

In light of Hamas’ seizure of the Gaza Strip, it is worthwhile to understand how this radical Islamist organization came to play such a major role in Palestinian political life and how Israel and the United States contributed to making that possible.

The End of Supreme Command

by Adam Elkus, John Feffer | Jun 21, 2007

George W. Bush has degraded many important American concepts and values, such as the rule of law, human rights, and just government. Civilian control of the military is his next victim. America’s founding fathers were justifiably concerned about the possibility of military dictatorship, which is why they made the president commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Keep the Freeze On Colombia

by John Feffer, Stephen Heidt | Jun 20, 2007

In April, the Democratic-controlled Congress froze $55.2 million in military assistance earmarked for Colombia. At issue were linkages between the Andean nation’s military and a paramilitary group on the State Department’s terrorist list. The administration response has largely been to marshal the troops and espouse the benefits of Plan Colombia, the vehicle that delivers U.S. assistance to Colombia.

Saving Darfur or Salvation Delusion?

by Steve Fake, Kevin Funk | Jun 19, 2007

Banner of hands for Darfur, from September 9, 2006 rally in Washington, DC. Courtesy of Genocide Intervention Network.

Just Security

by Sarah Anderson, Phyllis Bennis, Robin Broad, John Cavanagh, Steve Cobble, Anita Dancs, John Feffer, John Gershman, Erik Leaver, Kevin Martin, Nadia Martinez, Miriam Pemberton, Marcus Raskin, Emira Woods | Jun 19, 2007

Current U.S. foreign policy is unjust and breeds insecurity for all. In seeking an alternative, we should not revive the failed policies of the past. Instead, we should chart a new relationship between the United States and the world.

This alternative foreign policy framework tells five different stories about our common future and the five principal challenges we face: climate change, global poverty, nuclear weapons, terrorism, and military conflict. We address five different sets of core misconceptions and offer five interconnected prescriptions for change. We then offer a Just Security budget that would cut roughly $213 billion from the president’s current defense budget request and yet make the United States safer and more secure. The concluding chapter puts the challenges facing the United States in a larger historical context and offers an integrated Just Security program.

Moran on Guantanamo

by John Feffer, Michael Shank | Jun 14, 2007

James Moran (D-VA) has been in the House of Representatives since 1991. In 2002, he was one of 133 House members to vote against authorizing the invasion of Iraq. Most recently, he has proposed holding hearings in July on closing the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that currently holds several hundred detainees. FPIF contributor Michael Shank interviews him on the implications of his position on Guantanamo.

The Peace Movement Addresses Israel-Palestine (Finally)

by John Feffer, Stephen Zunes | Jun 14, 2007