Peace and Security
Massacres Expose another Reason to End Iraq and Afghanistan Wars
In today’s wars, exposés are mostly relegated to page 13 of The New York Times, and there’s no evidence so far that any consciences were particularly shocked.
Priority Check
The War Resisters League produced a pie chart that shows how much of our tax revenue funds warfare.
No More Torture
The Guardian, a British newspaper, reports that former “senior officers” in the MI6–the UK’s version of the CIA–are now criticizing U.S. policies and officials for using torture.
What If We’re Not So Angry?
aIt seems the more conservative you are, the more aggressive you want America to be with our nukes. If we’re angry loose cannons with an itchy finger on the button, the thinking seems to go, rogue countries will think long and hard about crossing us.
Nuclear Weapons: A Dangerous Relic
While diplomatic and political relations with Russia may have warmed since the Soviet Union’s demise, the process of reducing nuclear weapons has proven to be more complicated and slower. So much slower, in fact, that at present, the U.S. and Russian arsenals still make up 95 percent of the world’s 23,000 nuclear weapon stockpiles. Those 23,000 nuclear weapons could destroy the entire planet many times over.
Border Boondoggle
Flying and Radiation Risks
Whole body X-ray scanning machines were developed and first used to detect theft at gold and diamond mines on and inside the bodies of workers in Africa. They are fluoroscopic X-ray machines that provide a real-time image of a person’s body using “back-scatter,” or “soft” X-rays. They emit much less penetrating energy than machines found in a medical setting, such as CT scanners. However, like all machines, if their design, manufacture, calibration or maintenance is defective, then doses to passengers and security staff could be larger than claimed.
Why Our Taliban’s Gaining Traction
The Dutch government is the Afghanistan War’s latest casualty. When the Labor Party recently exited the The Dutch government is the Afghanistan War’s latest casualty. When the Labor Party recently exited the The Dutch government is the Afghanistan War’s latest casualty. When the Labor Party recently exited the The Dutch government is the Afghanistan War’s latest casualty. When the Labor Party recently exited the Netherlands’ ruling coalition government to protest the extension of the Dutch deployment in Afghanistan, the Taliban rejoiced. Perhaps you thought I meant Afghanistan’s Taliban. No, I meant the Taliban in the Netherlands. Never heard of it? It’s the “Freedom Party,” and it’s poised to become a top vote-getter in the elections scheduled for early June because of the ruling coalition’s collapse.
No More Blank Checks for the Pentagon, Please
Peace is possible through peaceful means. If more of our budget were invested in civilian efforts, we would conserve precious tax dollars and create a more secure country. Pentagon chief Robert Gates is among the leaders who say the United States needs more investments in diplomacy and development to help prevent wars before they break out.
Washington Must Pressure Israel to Stop Illegal Settlements
After meeting with Israeli officials and declaring there was “no space between the United States and Israel,” Biden was hit by news of the Israeli government’s approval of 1,600 new Jewish-only homes on Palestinian land in occupied East Jerusalem. The settlements are illegal under international law, and the U.S. government has consistently opposed their construction since the Johnson administration.
