Once again, a Spanish judge has indicted three American soldiers for the killing of Spanish cameraman José Couso at the Palestine Hotel in the 2003.
Spanish Court Won’t Let Cameraman Couso’s Killing at Hands of Americans Die
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Europe & Central Asia
The Extraterrestrial Atomic Energy Agency
In Europe and South America, UFO investigation is taken seriously — not debunked and stigmatized as in the United States.
Afghanistan’s Energy War
Violence escalated daily in Afghanistan with the approach of the 10-year anniversary of the U.S. invasion on October 7. At the same time, a little-noted energy agenda is moving rapidly forward that may not only deny Afghans the much needed economic benefits their energy resources could provide, but may also exacerbate insecurity and instability, ensuring a prolonged U.S. and foreign military presence. It is an agenda remarkably similar to one well underway in Iraq.
UN Origins Project Series, Part 5: Sharpening the Teeth of Peace
After World War II, for the first time, nations not only agreed upon liability for war crimes, but for the principle of attacking the international peace.
Kaddish for Oslo, Part 2: The Palmer Report
The Palmer Report whitewashed the Mavi Marmara attacks.
Dale Carnegie of the Middle East
U.S. democracy promotion efforts in the Middle East have been based on a bizarre notion: that U.S. society can serve as a model for the region. Talk about a tough sell. Congress is a bruising rugby scrum, and the U.S. economy is a shambles. U.S. warplanes and drones target Muslims abroad, and Islamophobia permeates the political discourse at home. Washington has supported Arab dictators and stood by Israel through thick and thin. We’re telling the world about the benefits of fruits and vegetables and then turning around to sell what looks like wormy apples and rotten tomatoes. No wonder that U.S. public diplomacy has largely fallen flat in the Middle East.
Escaping Haqqanistan
Despite its brutality, corruption, and affiliation with al Qaeda, the Haqqani network is likely to inherit much of Afghanistan should the United States leave.
Arab Spring, Turkish Harvest
After consolidating its domestic political position with an impressive third straight victory in the 2011 parliamentary elections, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) is poised to cement Turkey’s status as the prime indigenous power in the Middle East. As mass protests rock most of the region, including Israel, Turkey is increasingly holding itself up as an example of economic dynamism and democratic stability.
Why Al-Qaeda Won
With the tenth anniversary of the crime that was 9/11, the question inevitably crops up: who won, the United States or al-Qaeda? According to the politically correct answer, although al-Qaeda has been decimated, it has been a Pyrrhic victory for Washington. In defeating al-Qaeda, the U.S. government engaged in many unnecessary violations of human rights and due process that diminished America in the eyes of both its citizens and the world.
Karachi’s Long Summer of Violence
Karachi is the biggest city in Pakistan. It is the country’s commercial hub, financial capital, naval base, and only operational seaport. For the past several months, this city has once again been in the grip of violence. Gunshots ringing out in poor neighborhoods claimed the lives of more than 400 individuals in the months of July and August.