Special Coverage: ForeignPolicy

Say What? Cheney: Support for Israel Feeds Terrorism

Ray McGovern, Consortium News. May 22, 2009.
Will Cheney fire his speechwriter? He clearly stated that U.S. support for Israel is one of the "true sources of resentment" for terrorists.

Gen. McChrystal, Grim Reaper: Obama's New Afghan Commander Will Send Death Toll Soaring

Tom Engelhardt, Tomdispatch.com. May 22, 2009.
Stanley McChrystal comes from a world where killing by any means is the norm and a blanket of govt. secrecy provides the necessary protection.

The Military Hides Under the Skirts of Women to Justify War in Afghanistan

Jodie Evans, AlterNet. May 21, 2009.
The Pentagon portrays Afghanistan as a moral battle to "protect" its women. Afghan women tell another story: more war equals suffering.

Pakistan Is Not in Any Way on the Verge of a Theocratic Coup

Manan Ahmed, Indypendent. May 21, 2009.
It's a thoroughly modern state with vast infrastructure, a fiercely critical and diverse media, globalized economy -- no "failed state" here.

Is Obama's New Afghan Commander a Violator of the Geneva Conventions?

Tom Hayden, TheNation.com. May 20, 2009.
Allegations emerge that Gen. Stanley McChrystal oversaw secret prisons that violated human rights laws.

Israel Lobby Is in a Public Opinion Pickle: Jewish Voters Went for Obama Big Time, and He's No Neocon

Robert Dreyfuss, TheNation.com. May 19, 2009.
If Obama decides to get tough with Israel over the Palestinians, he'll have the support of his base, and much opposition from conservatives.

In Venezuela, Shootings of Union Organizers Common

Humberto Márquez, IPS News. May 18, 2009.
So far this year, four Ciudad Guayana activists belonging to different construction industry unions have been murdered.

Change We Can Believe In for U.S.-Israeli Relations?

Phyllis Bennis, AlterNet. May 17, 2009.
As Obama prepares to meet Israel's new hard-line PM, much of the world awaits signs of a new course.

Corruption Galore at the Washington Post

Mark Ames, The Nation. May 15, 2009.
The Washington Post's editorial page is busy whitewashing Bush's disastrous wars, which the newspaper encouraged all along.

America's Tortured Policy with China

Maura Moynihan, AlterNet. May 14, 2009.
In the People's Republic of China, there is no debate about torture; it's an integral part of governance.

How to Make the Neocons Crazy About the Middle East: Tell Them the Truth

Ira Chernus, AlterNet. May 13, 2009.
Hamas has long endorsed a two-state solution, but when the NY Times reported it, kooky neocon Charles Krauthammer went unhinged.

Pipeline-Istan: Everything You Need to Know About Oil, Gas, Russia, China, Iran, Afghanistan and Obama

Pepe Escobar, Tomdispatch.com. May 13, 2009.
Nothing of significance takes place in Eurasia without an energy angle.

Hawkish Right-Wingers Hurting Teachers, and Your Kids

Stephen Zunes, AlterNet. May 13, 2009.
Until the teachers union abandons its hawkish agenda, its credibility will continue to be compromised and embattled teachers will suffer.

Who Are the Real Psychopaths in Afghanistan?

Chris Hedges, Truthdig. May 11, 2009.
The U.S. has killed twice as many Afghan civilians as the Taliban this year and that number is sure to rise.

What Made Him Snap? Soldier Goes on Killing Spree in Baghdad 'Stress Clinic'

Penny Coleman, AlterNet. May 11, 2009.
Yesterday's attack was the deadliest by a fellow soldier since Bush's wars began. The trauma of combat may be the source.

Washington's Imperial Attitude: We Talk About Countries Like We Own Them

Tom Engelhardt, Tomdispatch.com. May 9, 2009.
It's the norm for U.S. civilian and military leaders to talk about what other countries "must do" -- but it's a radical and dangerous mindset.

Madness at the AIPAC Conference: Can We Stop These People from Destroying Israel?

Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK Women for Peace: Action Blog. May 7, 2009.
My mouth was muzzled by the sweaty hands of hate-filled staffers at the AIPAC conference, demanding that I "shut the f--- up."

Compañero Obama? Obama Mends Fences with Latin America

Benjamin Dangl, AlterNet. May 6, 2009.
The last time George W. Bush went to Latin America, protesters flooded the streets. Things have changed quite a bit since then.

Why Wiping Out Insurgents Won't Bring Peace to Sri Lanka

Mitu Sengupta, AlterNet. May 5, 2009.
The Tamil Tigers are the product, not the cause, of Sri Lanka’s deadly politics.

Boycott Begins to Bite at Companies Supporting Israel's Military Occupation of Palestine

Nadia Hijab, CounterPunch. May 4, 2009.
"When companies begin to lose money, they start to listen."

Defying the Economic Odds: The World Melts Down, China Grows

Dilip Hiro, Tomdispatch.com. May 4, 2009.
A new world order is emerging from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, with its center gravitating towards China.

The Ugly Truth About Foreign Aid in Afghanistan: Kabul's New Elite

Patrick Cockburn, Independent UK. May 2, 2009.
Western aid agencies are lavishing vast sums on their officials while extreme poverty is driving young Afghans to fight for the Taliban.

Don't Be Fooled by the Taliban Hysteria in Pakistan: They Aren't Going to Take Over

Pepe Escobar, Asia Times. May 1, 2009.
The fear being stoked of Taliban taking over nuclear-armed Pakistan are a ruse to legitimize Obama's expanding Af-Pak war.

Locked in a Private Immigration Prison, One Man Speaks Out

Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!. April 29, 2009.
Sheikh Zoubir Bouchikhi has been held without bail at a private immigration prison in Houston for the past four months.

Unclenching the American Fist Toward Iran

John Tirman, AlterNet. April 28, 2009.
Obama has taken a step toward freeing the U.S. from 30 years of coercion, sanctions, covert action and relentless insults against Iran.

Piracy and Empire

John Feffer, Foreign Policy in Focus. April 27, 2009.
With the world's maritime chokepoints at risk, pirates are emerging as the latest non-state threat: the terrorists of the seas.

How Many Innocent People Will Die for the Illusion of American Safety?

Tom Engelhardt, Tomdispatch.com. April 24, 2009.
Every year we kill thousands of innocent people. Does that seem reasonable? Does that seem right? Is your supposed safety worth that?

U.S. Shames Itself in Skipping Anti-Racism Conference

Stephen Zunes, Foreign Policy in Focus. April 22, 2009.
To the dismay of human rights groups across the world, Obama decided to pander to right-wing hawks and boycott the historic gathering.

For 8 Years, George Bush Turned America Into an Episode of Beverly Hills, 90210

Stephen Pizzo, News for Real. April 22, 2009.
In George W. Bush's America High, it was decided that the best way to deal with countries they decided were NOT cool, was to not talk to them.

Neocon Fantasies of Empire Crushed: the New Global Reality

Mark Engler, Foreign Policy in Focus. April 21, 2009.
Two disastrous wars and the economic meltdown have shaken America's superpower status. What can Obama do to help shape a sustainable global order?

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Auditing Conventional Wisdom

In partnership with the MIT Center for International Studies, AlterNet is pleased to present these Audits of the Conventional Wisdom.

This ongoing series of essays tours the horizon of conventional wisdoms that animate U.S. foreign policy and puts them to the test of data and history.

By subjecting particularly well-accepted ideas to close scrutiny, the series aims to re-engage policy and opinion leaders on topics that are too easily passing such scrutiny.

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