US Foreign Policy

How the State Department Let Israel Get Away With Horrors in Gaza: A Year of Empty Threats and a “Smokescreen” Policy

by Brett Murphy ( ProPublica ) – Empty Threats: Since Oct. 7, 2023, Biden has repeatedly issued threats that Israel ignored. U.S. officials tried to enforce consequences — but they couldn’t. Internal Dissent: The State Department disregarded its own experts and cracked down on leaks. Some human rights officials said they were prevented from pursuing […]

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Crime of the Century: CBS’ 60 Minutes Exposes the Biden Administration’s Complicity in Gaza Genocide, Interviews the Whistleblowers

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The amazingly brave Cecilia Vega at CBS’ 60 Minutes did a groundbreaking segment on Sunday in which she interviewed US government officials involved with the Israeli war on Gaza, who resigned in protest either explicitly or implicitly. She also screened the sort of horrific footage of the aftermath of Israeli […]

Donald Trump

Jimmy Carter Told Trump How to Put America First, But Will He Do It?

Medea Benjamin and Nicholas J.S. Davies

( Code Pink ) – With President Jimmy Carter’s passing and Donald Trump about to return to the White House, it’s a good time to recall a phone conversation that Carter had with Trump during his first term. Carter’s advice would serve Trump well if he really wants to fulfill his campaign promise to Put […]

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In 2024, did the US Demand for Israeli Impunity Fatally Undermine International Law?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – 2024 was a pivotal year for international humanitarian law. On the one hand, the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court functioned as they were intended to by the idealists who founded them. On the other, the International Humanitarian Law that underpins those institutions was profoundly, perhaps fatally […]

Syria

The Takedown of Bashar Assad has an Impact on Many in the U.S. Here’s how

Ibrahim Al-Marashi

( San Diego Union Tribune ) – Syrian refugees in El Cajon danced in the streets upon hearing about the Dec. 7 collapse of the Assad dynasty, which hailed from the Shi’a Alawite minority and ruled the majority Arab Sunni population of Syria for more than 50 years. Nevertheless, there are also Syrians who stayed […]

Democratic Party

Palestinians file Landmark Lawsuit against Blinken over Israel military Aid

Middle East Monitor

( Middle East Monitor ) – A groundbreaking federal lawsuit has been filed against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accusing him of systematically failing to implement US law that prohibits military assistance to foreign security forces involved in gross human rights violations, according to legal documents seen by Middle East Monitor (MEMO). The lawsuit, […]

China

Trump Confronts a Rising China: Can He Manage U.S.-China Relations Without Precipitating World War III?

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Gaza, Haiti, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, and Venezuela: President-elect Donald Trump will face no shortage of foreign-policy challenges when he assumes office in January. None, however, comes close to China in scope, scale, or complexity. No other country has the capacity to resist his predictable antagonism with the same […]

Iran

Iranian Leader Blames Assad’s Downfall On U.S., Israel, And Turkey

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

( RFE/ RL ) – Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in his first public comments since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was ousted, accused the United States and Israel of orchestrating the rebel uprising that toppled the regime over the weekend. Khamenei on December 11 also implicitly blamed Turkey for the lightning push of Syrian rebels […]

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“Trump is the one to Blame” for Current Iran Crisis: An Interview with Gary Sick (Pt. 2)

Fariba Amini

This is part II of Fariba Amini’s two-part interview with Columbia University Political Scientist and former National Security Council Adviser (to President Jimmy Carter) Gary Sick, among America’s foremost Iran specialists. Part I is here. Gary Sick. Courtesy Columbia University. Fariba Amini: How do you see Trump’s internal and foreign policy agenda in the coming […]