War & Peace Archives - Foreign Policy In Focus

Museum of Spies

by Jim Dee | Jan 24, 2007

Since launching his Âwar on terror,Â George W. Bush has touted the need for extraordinary measures in battling shadowy foes such as al-Qaida. However, revelations that such measures include torture, warrantless wiretapping, and the extra-judicial jailing of alleged terrorists in a network of secret CIA prisons have unsettled many Americans. Although such unsavory activities have tarnished the image of America’s covert forces, a snazzy museum in downtown Washington, DC is doing its utmost to remind people just how vital the spooks corps is to the very survival of the republic.

Full Snow Moon

by John Feffer, Melissa Tuckey | Jan 24, 2007

The bombers fly so close you feel their engines
in your chest though none can say
where they’re headed or why

Our State Among States

by Miriam Pemberton | Jan 23, 2007

The scene inside the Capitol tonight for this annual occasion will be more surreal than usual. The leader who has led us into the worst foreign policy disaster in our history will stride punctually into the chamber, bathed in thunderous, ritual applause.

Protesting Guantanamo

by Frida Berrigan, John Feffer | Jan 22, 2007

On January 11, 2007 more than 100 people in orange jumpsuits trudged slowly from the Supreme Court to the Federal District Court in Washington, DC. Black hoods covered their faces. Another 400 protesters followed “the prisoners” as they tried to enter the U.S. court building. This bit of political theater symbolically brought the plight of tortured and indefinitely detained prisoners out of the legal shadows of Guantanamo and into the court, thereby shining a light on the illegality of their treatment and detention.

Force Won’t Bring Peace to Somalia

by Khadija O. Ali | Jan 19, 2007

The sudden defeat of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) by the Ethiopian army and their U.S. backers proved easier then expected. A reported 15,000 Ethiopian troops and U.S. aerial bombardment succeeded in installing the Transitional Federal Government, two years after its formation in neighboring Kenya.

George McGovern: Get Out of Iraq

by George McGovern | Jan 19, 2007

George McGovern, a former South Dakota Senator and Democratic presidential nominee, delivered this speech at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on January 12, 2007.

Iran: Thinking the Unthinkable

by John Feffer, Conn Hallinan | Jan 15, 2007

Bush Skimps on Communal Rights and Responsibilities

by Emily Schwartz Greco, Col. Daniel Smith (Ret.) | Jan 10, 2007

President George W. Bush will address the nation Wednesday night on his new strategy for his same-old goal of “victory” in Iraq. Most of the plan has been leaked — in this case probably the expression ”handed to” would be more accurate — to the press with the approval and encouragement of the White House. The most carefully guarded secret, as of this writing, seems to be the venue: The Oval Office; the White House Map Room; or Vice-President Cheney’s last undisclosed location.

World Bank OK With Blood For Oil

by Daphne Wysham | Jan 8, 2007

It has been a year since the horror of the bloodshed in Sudan’s Darfur region–with over 200,000 dead in three years–began leaking across the border into Chad. It has also been a year since a simmering conflict boiled over into a full-scale confrontation between World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz and Chadian President Idriss Deby. Are the two connected? In a word, yes. Here’s how.

Bush to Iraq: More War

by John Feffer, Col. Daniel Smith (Ret.) | Jan 5, 2007

In his popular weekly radio and subsequent television quiz show, ÂYou Bet Your Life,Â Groucho Marx featured the “magic word.” If a contestant happened to utter it during the course of the show, he or she would instantly receive $25 or $50 or some other, inflation-adjusted amount.