Special Coverage: Global Affairs

Global Affairs

News, analysis and commentary on international affairs

Courting An Old Enemy

Behrouz Saba, Pacific News Service. August 22, 2002.
Iran is plunging toward greater domestic instability -- even as Pentagon secretly seeks its support for the U.S. plan to overthrow Saddam.

Seven Arguments Against Bombing Iraq

Stephen Zunes, AlterNet. August 22, 2002.
The key assumptions underlying the planned war are based on dangerous fallacies that undermine the United States' moral and legal obligations as a nation.

Call In the Real Iraq Experts

Sean Gonsalves, AlterNet. August 7, 2002.
Conspicuously absent from last week's Senate hearings on whether the U.S. should go to war in Iraq were the experts with the most vital information.

The Rush to War

Richard Falk, The Nation. August 7, 2002.
The United States is poised on the slippery precipice of a pre-emptive war without a public debate, much less any real protest.

Settling Old Scores

Robert Scheer, WorkingForChange.com. August 7, 2002.
President Bush is intent on avenging his father and saving his poll numbers rather than serving the American people.

Bomb Saddam, Save the G.O.P.

William Rivers Pitt, TruthOut.org. July 30, 2002.
Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter claims the impending American war against Iraq isn't about terrorism, it's about the November elections.

Sharon's Plan For Middle East Violence

Neve Gordon, AlterNet. July 30, 2002.
The recent bombing of innocent civilians in Gaza did not aim to punish the terrorist group Hamas, but to provoke them.

The Power of Peaceful Protest

Ruth Rosen, San Francisco Chronicle. July 25, 2002.
The victory of 600 Nigerian women against ChevronTexaco is a testament to the power of non-violent protest.

Afghan Pipe Dreams

Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch. July 25, 2002.
The power grab over a proposed trans-Caspian oil pipeline is not just about money -- it's also about geopolitics.

Dangerous Illusions About National Security

Robert Higgs, AlterNet. July 25, 2002.
As the war on terror rolls on it is more urgent than ever for Americans to distinguish rhetoric from reality.

Argentines Protest U.S. Banks

Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, Pacific News Service. July 16, 2002.
Since December's financial collapse, the lifetime savings of millions of Argentines have been frozen under government-enforced banking curbs.

Lies, Damn Lies, and Pentagon Statistics

Fran Shor, AlterNet. July 15, 2002.
When it comes to "collateral damage" in Afghanistan, the Bush administration responds with little more than denials and fuzzy numbers.

Little Unity Within the African Union

Gamal Nkrumah, Foreign Policy in Focus. July 15, 2002.
The newly formed organization is eager to emulate the success of the EU -- but it is already in the midst of a battle over globalization and democracy.

Return of the Police State

Lisa Garrigues, Pacific News Service. July 2, 2002.
Recent incidents of police brutality have Argentinians on edge, fearful of a return to the repression of the 1970s.

Fearless Nuclear Gamblers

Pervez Hoodbhoy, AlterNet. July 2, 2002.
Neither India or Pakistan seem to fear mutual nuclear destruction. The ignorant and fearless governments could well add a new chapter to well-worn textbooks on nuclear deterrence.

Jerusalem Under Attack

Neve Gordon, AlterNet. July 2, 2002.
Suicide bombings constitute a threat to human lives but not -- as Likud supporters claim -- to the existence of Israel.

Freedom To Ethnically Cleanse

Geov Parrish, WorkingForChange.com. July 2, 2002.
The Bush administration's threat to withdraw from peacekeeping operations around the world is a grand old "screw you" to the world community

G-8: Failing Model of Global Governance

Tom Barry, Foreign Policy in Focus. June 27, 2002.
In order to regain its lost legitimacy, G8 forum must move away from its free trade ideology which has led to increasing social and economic polarization.

A Wake-Up Call for the G-8

Mark Weisbrot, AlterNet. June 27, 2002.
G-8 leaders need to pay attention to the plight of less afffluent nations who have experienced devastating economic failure over the past 20 years.

Let's Get Real About "Aid"

Salih Booker, William Minter, The Nation. June 27, 2002.
Real global change requires not just more "aid," but a shift away from the patronizing mentality the word implies.

Brazilian Leftist Stirs Up Presidential Elections

Roger Burbach, Pacific News Service. June 21, 2002.
More and more Brazilians are warming up to left-leaning presidential candidate Luis Ignacio da Silva. The Bush administration is not happy.

Bush's Bomb Saddam Brigade

Bill Berkowitz, WorkingForChange.com. June 17, 2002.
A groups of influential neocons in the White House are beating the attack-Iraq war drum again.

Why South Asia Won't Be "Calmed"

Brendan O'Neill, Spiked Online. June 17, 2002.
The current bout of conflict between India and Pakistan was sparked not by age-old enmities but by the global war on terrorism.

A Media Fog of Denial

Norman Solomon, AlterNet. June 13, 2002.
America's nuclear policy is rarely discussed in medialand, where a red-white-and-blue nuclear warhead is not really a bomb.

Say No to Nuclear Power

Karl Grossman, AlterNet. June 13, 2002.
Nuclear power plants provide both a desirable target for a terrorist attack and potential raw material for a "dirty bomb." It's time to shut them down.

Perils of Bush's Nuclear Policy

William D. Hartung, AlterNet. June 13, 2002.
The administration's rhetoric on its nuclear policy is a gross distortion of recent history and current realities.

Shipping Plutonium Around the World

George Monbiot, The Guardian. June 13, 2002.
Britain is transporting vast amounts of plutonium across the ocean as part of a commercial deal with Japan. It's a recipe for nuclear disaster.

The World Food Summit: What Went Wrong?

Peter Rosset, Foreign Policy in Focus. June 12, 2002.
The root cause of persistent hunger is not a lack of resources but the destructive trade and agricultural policies of governments.

Terrorism Is Not Inevitable

Ted Lewis, Jason Mark, AlterNet. June 12, 2002.
The Bush administration claims terrorist attacks cannot be prevented -- but that's because of U.S. foreign policy.

The 1932 Disarmament Conference

Albert Einstein, The Nation. June 12, 2002.
On Sept. 4 1934, Albert Einstein penned an eloquent appeal calling for disarmament. His moral vision rings truer than ever today.

An Urgent Call to End Nuclear Danger

Jonathan Schell, David Cortright, Randall Caroline Forsberg, The Nation. June 10, 2002.
Three anti-nuclear activists issue an urgent appeal calling on the U.S. to commit itself to the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Lighting the Nuclear Fire

Pervez Hoodbhoy, Z Magazine. June 6, 2002.
Delusional thinking on part of both Indian and Pakistani leaders has brough both countries to the edge of all-out war.

Under the Nuclear Cloud

Arundhati Roy, AlterNet. June 6, 2002.
People on both sides of the Indo-Pak border live on hairtrigger alert as their leaders callously play a radioactive game of chicken.

The Thinkable Nuclear War

Geov Parrish, WorkingForChange.com. June 6, 2002.
The Indian and Pakistani governments are not crazy -- they are just emulating the geopolitical arrogance of the United States. And Washington is doing little to stop them.

More Alienated Than Ever

Josie Appleton, Spiked Online. June 6, 2002.
Sept. 11 has heightened the search for an identity and the feelings of frustration among young Muslims in Britain -- making them more radical than ever.

The Price of Failure in Kashmir

Achin Vanaik, Foreign Policy in Focus. June 3, 2002.
With both governments exploiting military fervor for political gain, an all-out war between India and Pakistan will break out sooner or later.

Onward, Christian Soldiers

Deanne Stillman, The Nation. May 31, 2002.
The conflict in the Middle East is fueling a burgeoning love affair between born-again Christians and Israel.

Beware of Bolton

Ian Williams, AlterNet. May 30, 2002.
Meet Jesse Helms' political heir: John Bolton, Undersecretary of State and right-wing warrior extraordinaire.

The Arms Control Shell Game

Peter Ferenbach, AlterNet. May 30, 2002.
The Bush-Putin nuclear arms agreement is part of an elaborate charade put on by a White House intent on jeopardizing global security.

Bush's Selective Distaste For Dictators

Laocoön , TomPaine.com. May 21, 2002.
George Bush is getting tough with Cuba in the name of democracy, while he cozies up with repressive dictators across the world, including Dr. Mahathir in Malaysia.

Washington Targets Havana

Alex Volberding, Larry Birns, AlterNet. May 17, 2002.
A high-powered cabal of rightwing hardliners within the Bush administration are determined to engineer Castro’s downfall at any cost.

Brain Drain in Argentina

Louis Nevaer, Pacific News Service. May 16, 2002.
Qualified professionals --especially Jews -- are packing up and leaving Argentina for good.

Imperial Temptation

Amitav Ghosh, The Nation. May 16, 2002.
Contrary to popular wisdom, empire is not merely a project of conservatives. It is just as popular with liberals.

Making the World Safe for Nuclear Weapons

William D. Hartung, World Policy Institute. May 15, 2002.
The Bush-Putin pact preserves the United States' nuclear arsenal and opens the door to a new kind of arms race.

Reading the Middle Eastern and South Asian Press

Sandip Roy, Pacific News Service. May 9, 2002.
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Bush's Hit List At the United Nations

Ian Williams, Foreign Policy in Focus. May 9, 2002.
The U.S. has mounted a systematic campaign to oust top United Nations officials opposed to the war on terrorism.

A Quiet Revolution In Burma

Geov Parrish, WorkingForChange.com. May 7, 2002.
The release of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is a triumph for non-violent movements everywhere.

Bush 'Unsigns' War Crimes Treaty

Jim Lobe, AlterNet. May 6, 2002.
The Bush administration has pulled out of the treaty to establish the International Criminal Court -- a move that is both unprecedented and foolhardy.

France Takes a Right Turn

Doug Ireland, In These Times. April 29, 2002.
The rise of neo-fascist Le Pen in France offers a simple lesson: when a left-wing government institutes right-wing policies, it clears the way for extremists.

Playing the Anti-Semitism Card

Marty Jezer, AlterNet. April 29, 2002.
Some Jewish organizations in the U.S. accuse Arabs of anti-Semitism -- yet embrace right-wing Christian groups that denounce Jews.

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Global Affairs

When the Soviet Union collapsed, pundits and politicians alike declared the dawn of a "new world order" whose guiding principle would be economics, not military power. The end of the Cold War was also expected to herald a new era of global peace and cooperation, aided by the unfettered spread of global capital. More...

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