Peace and Security
Syria’s Butcher
Hate Groups Spread Lies and Kill Cops
In the new annual census of extremist and hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), we found that groups on the radical right had grown dramatically in 2011 for a third consecutive year. This expansion has swelled the ranks of extremists to record levels.
Inching Toward Progress on the North Korean Nuke Problem
Following years of deadlock, the United States and North Korea finally struck a deal in late February.
Washington’s Dangerous New Military Strategy
The Iraq War was a disaster, so the U.S. needs a new foreign policy. Instead of invading foreign countries with tens of thousands of troops and trying to occupy and control the political process, President Barack Obama has embraced a new foreign military policy relying on “unmanned” drones and limited counterinsurgency forces.
Libya’s Lessons
Libya is commonly counted as a success story among the ongoing Arab uprisings. NATO bombing, the story goes, saved thousands of lives and allowed Libyans to overthrow the absurd and murderous Muammar Gaddafi. The intervention proves that the West has aligned its interests in the Arab world with its values — and may even be a measure of redemption for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the deeper colonial past.
Iraq Takes It Personally
Iraq is a gift that keeps on giving. We kicked out their murderous dictator for them, helped them institute democracy, poured hundreds of millions into their recovery, and tried our best to interrupt their civil war. Then we left — or at least our combat troops did.
Dr. Strangedrone
Polls and Local Resolutions Underscore Support for Military Spending Cuts
In Washington, senators and Pentagon officials are saying the sky will fall if we cut one more cent from the military budget. But a very different message is building in the heartland.
Running Against Islam
Every political season has its hot-button issues. There’s race, abortion, lunar colonies. But the hottest hot-button issue these days, judging from comments by Republican presidential hopefuls as well as what happened during the 2010 mid-term elections, is Islam.
Politics, Perpetrators, and the Plight of Women
Angelina Jolie’s writing and directorial debut “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” snubbed by the Oscars and screened in very few U.S. theaters, isn’t generating the blockbuster actress’s usual buzz. It deserves better.
