US Foreign Policy

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Washington Militarizes Foreign Policy, but cuts Fulbright Cultural Exchange

(By Ann Jones via Tomdispatch.com) Ignorance can be dangerous, as shown in a recent poll asking Americans what to do about the Ukraine crisis. It turned out that the less those polled were capable of identifying where in the world Ukraine is, the more likely they were to want the U.S. to intervene militarily in […]

Bush

Condoleezza Rice, Charged with War Crimes at Rutgers, withdraws as Commencement Speaker

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Condoleezza Rice on Saturday pulled out of giving the commencement address at Rutgers University after professor and student protests. Rutgers historian Professor Rudy Bell argued that while it would be appropriate to have Rice on campus as part of an academic debate, she is unsuitable as a commencement speaker because of her […]

Israel

It’s Not about Hamas: Decrying Palestinian Unity

Juan Cole

(By Gregory Harms) Aside from the occasional cross-border violence between Gaza and Israel, Hamas, which governs the coastal strip, has received little attention in the press over the last few years. Because of their recent agreement with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s government in the West Bank, the subject is receiving increased treatment. The story, however, […]

Bush

Top 10 Attacks on US Embassies in Republican Administrations that Lindsey Graham doesn’t Care about

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The Republicans in Congress keep beating the dead horse of Benghazi. Now they have sprung a briefing memo for Susan Rice, based on CIA talking points. I shows that the briefing hewed to the CIA line of the time, which was that the Benghazi disturbances were copy cats of those in Cairo, […]

Israel/ Palestine

The PLO-Hamas Unity Agreement: an Opportunity for the United States and Israel

Juan Cole

(By Joel Migdal) The unity agreement announced last week between Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization drew swift, negative reactions from Israel, including suspending its participation in the U.S.-sponsored peace talks. Israel said flatly it would not negotiate with a team that included those dedicated to its destruction. The response by the United States to […]

Afghanistan

The Longest War: How the US drove potential Afghanistan Allies into the Arms of the Taliban

Juan Cole

(By Anand Gopal via Tomdispatch.com) It was a typical Kabul morning. Malik Ashgar Square was already bumper-to-bumper with Corolla taxis, green police jeeps, honking minivans, and angry motorcyclists. There were boys selling phone cards and men waving wads of cash for exchange, all weaving their way around the vehicles amid exhaust fumes. At the gate […]

Bill of Rights

The Impunity of American Torture: From Abu Ghraib to Sen. Feinstein’s Brawl with the CIA

Juan Cole

(by Karen J. Greenberg via Tomdispatch.com) It’s mind-boggling. Torture is still up for grabs in America. No one questions anymore whether the CIA waterboarded one individual 83 times or another 186 times. The basic facts are no longer in dispute either by those who champion torture or those who, like myself, despise the very idea […]

Featured

John Kerry admits Israeli Apartheid; and 5 Ways he is Understating It

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) In a closed-room meeting of the Trilateral Commission last Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry warned that Israel is on the verge of becoming an Apartheid state, according to a recording obtained by The Daily Beast. The remark will raise a firestorm of criticism from Palestine-deniers, who are if anything more blindered […]