Scholars, advocates, and activists seeking to make the U.S. a more responsible global partner.
Petropolitics

Alienation and Militancy in the Niger Delta: A Response to CSIS on Petroleum, Politics, and Democracy in Nigeria

by , , , | Jul 1, 2003

In the wake of the September 11th attack and the Iraq war, Nigeria’s geopolitical significance to the U.S. has come into sharper relief. In March and April 2003, militancy across the Niger Delta radically disrupted oil production in this major oil supplier nation. News of these actions, following conflict-ridden national elections, has reinforced the notion that Nigeria and the new West African “gulf states” in general are matters of U.S. national security.

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Liberia: Ending the Horror

by | Jul 1, 2003

As a Liberian living in Zimbabwe, I, like many of my expatriates, have been tying up Africa’s phone lines trying to reach my relatives in Monrovia. The reports of violence in the mainstream press have deep meaning for me, as I worry about the fate of my family, especially my mother, who was just released from the hospital. My sister told me that rocket-propelled grenades fired by Liberia United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebel forces had landed on the house where she lived. My mother’s house also suffered such an attack. Thankfully, their lives were spared, but immediately after the explosions destroyed the houses, desperate vandals looted them, and my sister and mother are now among the 1 million Liberians who are displaced. They were able to seek refuge at the Faith Healing Temple in Logan Town, about a mile from their homes. As I spoke to them, the voices of others, especially crying babies, were audible in the background.

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White House Hobbles International Criminal Court, World Security

by , | Jul 1, 2003

The current U.S. administration has a near-religious aversion to the new, permanent International Criminal Court (ICC). The court, now with 90 member countries, was established to ensure that the rule of law prevails in places where the only alternative is impunity for the most gut-wrenchingly vicious crimes against humanity. Its opponents in the administration, however, claim that the court will become a forum for politicized prosecutions. In fact, they are so sure that the court is out to persecute U.S. citizens that they are willing to undermine some of the most basic foundations of international security to protect against this perceived, but nonexistent, threat.

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The United States in Iraq: An Experiment with Unilateral Humanitarianism

by | Jun 26, 2003

Operation Iraqi Freedom, the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the U.S. and its coalition partners, embodies a new approach to post-conflict humanitarian action. This approach unifies security, governance, humanitarian response, and reconstruction under the control of the Department of Defense. Humanitarian action is unilateral in character and linked inextricably to the U.S. security agenda in the context of the global war on terrorism. The UN agencies and nongovernmental organizations, traditionally the coordinators and implementers of humanitarian assistance and post-conflict reconstruction programs, are expected to play supportive roles within an effort managed by the Pentagon.

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Road Map: Sharon & The Record

by | Jun 20, 2003

One thing to keep in mind about the current push for peace between Israelis and Palestinians is that Ariel Sharon is one of the most consistent political figures in the Middle East, and he keeps his word. It is a deeply chilling observation.

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Iraq: Integrity and Ethics in Formulating and Interpreting Intelligence

by | Jun 17, 2003

On June 6, Randy Cohen, the New York Times’ resident ethicist, appeared on CNN’s NewsNight where he and host Aaron Brown began talking about ethics and integrity in the conduct of public business and in the statements and actions of public figures. Near the end of the time allotted for the discussion, Brown mentioned weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq. Cohen replied in part: “I think this is the big ethical story of the week: Many people are asserting … that the president lied about [WMD] in order to get our country into a war.”

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Is U.S. Foreign Policy a Threat to U.S. Security?

by | Jun 17, 2003

The world is turning against the United States. Most people across the planet dislike U.S. President George W. Bush. Even in his own country he is not as popular, trusted, and admired as other leaders, such as British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Experts are in agreement that the primary reason why people now hate the United States is the Bush administration’s foreign policy. More and more people are less keen on cooperating with the U.S. government in that policy or in the war on terror. Its exclusively self-regarding outlook, its arrogant unilateralism, its unwise and untrustworthy rhetoric, and its belligerent posture is alienating and angering people in the East and the West. Growing opposition will not only undermine the war on terror, but its extreme manifestations in the Muslim World are attracting new and numerous recruits to the ranks of al Qaeda and associates.

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Bringing the War Home: Right Wing Think Tank Turns Wrath on NGOs

by | Jun 13, 2003

Having led the charge to war in Iraq, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), an influential think tank close to the Bush administration, has added a new target: international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). AEI and its partner in the project, the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, are setting their sights on those groups with a “progressive” or “liberal” agenda that favors “global governance” and other notions that are also promoted by the United Nations and other multilateral agencies.

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Winning Round Two of American Public Diplomacy in the Arab and Muslim Worlds

by | Jun 13, 2003

According to a poll released early last week by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (http://people-press.org/), America’s image has become “dangerously” negative throughout the Arab and Muslim world. Ironically, this follows an intensive public diplomacy initiative aimed specifically at the region. How did America’s battle for the hearts and minds of the Arabs and Muslims wind up alienating the very people Washington was trying to reach?

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