The only way to stop this crisis from spiraling out of control is for the world community — and Joe Biden — to condemn the act.
Will the World Community Condemn the Murder of Iran’s Nuclear Scientist?
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assassination
Assassins Without Borders
Saudi Arabia’s apparent assassination of Jamal Khashoggi might have taken inspiration from Russia and North Korea — or Israel and the United States.
Killer Presidents
From Duterte to Trump, a new crop of populist leaders are reviving a tried and true method of demonstrating leadership — killing people.
Gustavo Castro Witnessed the Murder of Berta Cáceres. That Means His Life Is in Danger.
In the face of silence from Washington, the Clinton-backed coup government in Honduras is mopping up activists for democracy and indigenous rights.
Carrots for Cuba, Sticks for North Korea
As one cold war thaws, another refreezes.
Tunisia Boils Over
Once again, Tunisians’ anger has overcome their fear. Spurred by a political assassination, tens of thousands have taken to the streets to protest the state into which their country has fallen. The same sense of decency and dignity that propelled them to the streets before drives them on now.
The Pitfalls of Presidential Priestliness
One of the most resonant details from The New York Times’ recent feature on the Obama administration’s targeted killing program is the president’s apparent fondness for the writings of Thomas Aquinas and Augustine of Hippo, two early Christian thinkers who attempted to reconcile the pacifist teachings of Christ with the compromises that leaders must make in their inherently violent line of work. The president, it is suggested, strives to wage a “just war” against militants abroad, exacting only as much violence as is necessary to protect the United States from harm.
Jihadi Butch Cassidy
We have, once again, played right into Osama bin Laden’s hands. This might seem like an odd assertion, since the al-Qaeda mastermind is finally dead at the hands of U.S. Special Forces, most heads of state have voiced their congratulations, and practically the entire U.S. citizenry is unified in celebration. But Osama bin Laden always understood that the weak use the weapons of the powerful against them, such as U.S. airplanes against U.S. skyscrapers.
The Undead Chicken
Muammar Gaddafi is the undead chicken. Bashar al-Assad of Syria and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain are the unscared monkeys. The United States has shaped its policy toward the evolving situation in the Middle East according to the Chinese proverb of “killing the chicken to scare the monkey.” The Obama administration has intervened in the conflict in Libya with the apparent goal of punishing Gaddafi for cracking down on the emerging protest movement back in February. This intervention was designed to send a message to other autocrats in the region: don’t fire on your unarmed opposition — or else. But the United States and its allies are having problems with the “or else” part of the equation.
Osama bin Laden’s Secret Strategy
Osama bin Laden and his supporters around the world are digging in for the long haul, waiting for the day when the United States can no longer afford the war on terrorism and begins to wilt under the weight of unilateralism.