United States Archives - Page 4 of 18 - Foreign Policy In Focus

Occupy APEC with Aloha

by Christine Ahn | Nov 17, 2011

“The time has come for us to voice our rage,” the Hawaiian artist Makana sang as he gently strummed his slack-key guitar. “Against the ones who’ve trapped us in a cage, to steal from us the value of our wage.”

Makana wasn’t serenading the Occupy movement; rather his audience included over a dozen of the world’s most powerful leaders, including President Obama and China’s Premier Hu Jintao, at the world’s most secure, policed, and fortified event: the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) dinner in Hawaii.

Dismembering Afghanistan

by Conn Hallinan | Aug 5, 2010

Wars are rarely lost in a single encounter; Defeat is almost always more complex than that. The United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies have lost the war in Afghanistan, but not just because they failed in the battle for Marjah or decided that discretion was the better part of valor in Kandahar. They lost the war because they should never have invaded in the first place; because they never had a goal that was achievable; because their blood and capital are finite.

U.S. Hijacks ICC conference

by Francis Njubi Nesbitt | Jun 29, 2010

The United States managed to foil the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) adoption of the crime of aggression as part of its mandate during this month’s review conference in Kampala, Uganda. But the U.S. presence at the conference demonstrates a new engagement with the ICC, and the Obama administration’s interest in helping to shape international law.

U.S. Men’s World Cup Team Rides a Wave of Jingoism

by David Vine | Jun 26, 2010

The U.S. Men’s World Cup victories are not symbols of a melting-pot nation which has somehow, magically erased its history of slavery, genocide, and imperial expansion. It’s 23 men and their coaches who have done rather well in just the first round.

Democratic Party Defends Israeli Attack

by Stephen Zunes | Jun 10, 2010

Countering the broad consensus of international legal scholars who recognize that the attack was in flagrant violation of international norms, prominent Democrats embraced the Orwellian notion that Israel’s raid, which killed at least nine activists and wounded scores of others, was somehow an act of self-defense.

Lack of North American Leadership

by Laura Carlsen, John Feffer | Aug 13, 2009

Times of crisis require bold leadership and innovative solutions. Crises demand the casting aside of old, failed paradigms and the mobilization of people to create new ones.

Obama: Renegotiate NAFTA as You Promised

by Manuel Perez-Rocha, Emily Schwartz Greco, Stuart Trew | Jul 27, 2009

Starting my first year in office, I will convene annual meetings with Mr. Calderón and the prime minister of Canada. Unlike similar summits under President Bush, these will be conducted with a level of transparency that represents the close ties among our three countries. We will seek the active and open involvement of citizens, labor, the private sector and non-governmental organizations in setting the agenda and making progress.

Iran’s Do-It-Yourself Revolution

by John Feffer, Stephen Zunes | Jun 29, 2009

Facing an unprecedented popular uprising against his autocratic rule and his apparently fraudulent re-election, Iran’s right-wing president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has attempted to blame the United States. A surprising number of bloggers on the left have rushed to the defense of the right-wing fundamentalist leader. Citing presidential directives under the Bush administration, they argue that the uprising isn’t as much about a stolen election, the oppression of women, censorship, severe restrictions on political liberties, growing economic inequality, and other grievances, as it is about the result of U.S. interference.

‘Palestinians’ without ‘Palestine’

by Ira Chernus, John Feffer | Jun 16, 2009

"Obama welcomes Netanyahu acceptance of Palestinian state," the headlines blared. Well, at least that’s settled. With the U.S. president having shown the Israeli prime minister who is boss, both are headed toward the same long-term goal of a two-state solution — or so it seems.

Lessons from Moscow and Tehran

by Emily Schwartz Greco, Benjamin Tua | May 27, 2009

Following three decades of mutually hostile postures characterized by minimal communication and limited and sporadic cooperation, the United States and Iran may be about to reengage more constructively.

Such a development, while important for us, would be of even greater significance for the greater Middle East and beyond. Its impact on a variety of relationships, including that between the United States and Israel, and those between Israel and its neighbors, would be transformative and positive. But much must happen by way of careful and persistent diplomacy to get the various moving parts in place. As Washington proceeds to restructure what is probably the key relationship in the region — namely, that between itself and Iran — it would do well to consider how another country has approached its own relations with Iran, in good times and bad. That country is Russia.