Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – US arms transfers are conditioned by federal law, as the Congressional Research office explains, which: “prohibits security assistance to ‘any country the government of which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.’” (Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended in 1976 with Section 502B(a)(2) […]
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US Foreign Policy
Naked Hypocrisy: The US once cited UNSC Resolutions to Invade Iraq, now calls Gaza Ceasefire Demand “Non-Binding”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Tuesday characterized the United Nations Security Council resolution 2728 demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza conflict as “non-binding,” a phrase also used by US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. The US was rebuked by China, according to Akmal Dawi at VOA: “‘Security […]
As Israel defies UNSC demand for Gaza Ceasefire, UN Human Rights Body slams ongoing “Genocide”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The UN Security Council has finally passed a ceasefire resolution for Gaza, from which the US abstained, so it was passed by the other 14 members. Although UNSC resolutions are binding, and countries like Iraq and Iran have been severely punished for disobeying them, the US is running interference for […]
The Middle East Ranks at the Bottom of Gallup’s Happiness Index, except for Rich Oil States; is the US to Blame?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The annual Gallup report on happiness by country came out this week. It is based on a three-year average of polling. What struck me in their report is how unhappy the Middle East is. The only Middle Eastern country in the top twenty is Kuwait (for the first time in […]
Western Powers could Stop the Gaza Genocide; instead they Cover it Up with “Humanitarian Aid”
By Caroline Lund and Brendan Ciarán Browne | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – The ongoing genocide in Gaza has starkly exposed Western governments’ unequal and wholly selective application of international law whilst also managing to draw much-needed attention to the dysfunctional role that foreign donors and their development agendas play in the region. […]
The American Empire in (Ultimate?) Crisis
( Tomdispatch.com ) – Empires don’t just fall like toppled trees. Instead, they weaken slowly as a succession of crises drain their strength and confidence until they suddenly begin to disintegrate. So it was with the British, French, and Soviet empires; so it now is with imperial America. Great Britain confronted serious colonial crises in […]
Joe Biden’s Gaza Aid Pier isn’t Enough: 6 More Things that Must be Done
By Sarah Schiffling, Hanken School of Economics and Foteini Stavropoulou, Liverpool John Moores University | – (The Conversation) – In his State of the Union address, Joe Biden announced an idea to alleviate the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza. The American president said he is “directing the US military to lead an emergency mission to […]
Tempest in a Teapot: British Illusions and American Hegemony from Iraq to Yemen
Review of Tom Stevenson, Someone Else’s Empire: British Illusions and American Hegemony.. London: Verso, 2023. Munich (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Everything is going well in the “Special Relationship” between the US and the UK. After an American chemist dared to suggest that adding salt to the quintessential British cup of tea could represent an […]
As Palestinian Children Die of Hunger, US blows ineffectual Kisses with Air Drop
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The known deaths from starvation of Palestinian children in Gaza hospitals rose to 16 on Monday. This is a fraction of the actual such deaths, since Israel has put most of the Strip’s hospitals out of commission and many infants and children are dying of malnutrition at home. In February, […]