Stephen Zunes, a Foreign Policy In Focus columnist and senior analyst, is a professor of Politics and chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco. He is the author, along with Jacob Mundy, of Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution (Syracuse University Press, 2010).
In the United States and around the world, many are questioning why, despite some mild rebukes, Washington has maintained its large-scale military, financial, and diplomatic support for the Israeli occupation in the face of unprecedented violations of international law and human rights standards by Israeli occupation forces.
The tragic events of September 11 have created unprecedented challenges for the peace movement, anti-interventionist forces, and other progressive activists.
One of the first State of the Union speeches in a long time to pay attention to foreign policy.
The east African nation of Somalia is being mentioned with increasing frequency as a possible next target in the U.S.-led war against international terrorism.
There has been increasing attention on Yemen as the possible next major focus in the U.S. campaign against terrorism.
There are many valid critiques of U.S. policy toward Iraq before, during, and after the Gulf War. Failing to invade and overthrow the Iraqi government, however, is not one of them.
Afghanistan’s complex and violent tribal and ethnic politics has swallowed up great powers before. It remains to be seen whether the United States will become the next victim.
Whether or not the shaky cease-fire in effect since the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States holds, the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace remain dim.
he use of military force for self-defense is legitimate under international law. Military force for retaliation is not.
If there is any logic to the terrorists’ madness, it is to have the U.S. over-react and turn large segments of the Islamic world against the West. To launch a major military operation against Afghanistan would play right into Osama bin Laden’s hands.
Instead of continuing the cycle of violence, we need to re-evaluate policies that lead to such anger and resentment.
The U.S. is now officially among the few countries in the world not formally committed to the fight against racism.
The U.S. could have made a strong, positive impression by sending its African-American Secretary of State, a descendent of slaves, and making a forceful stand against racism. Instead, it chose to send a low-level delegation.
There is little chance for changing Bush policy on the Middle East with the Democrats outflanking the administration on the right.
Israeli forces murder political dissidents
The likely conviction of Milosevic will remain only a partial victory as long as the United States opposes the establishment of an International Criminal Court.
The growth of anti-Americanism is obvious not just in the Middle East and other third world conflict areas, but even within Western European countries long considered to be among America’s strongest allies.
With the diplomatic umbrella of France and the United States protecting the monarchy from its international obligations, it now appears that Baker will soon be recommending that the UN drop the idea for a plebiscite and replace it with a settlement provid
Current U.S.-UN Iraq policy has failed. A change to a more humane and practical policy by the U.S. would quickly be accepted by the UN Security Council as a whole.
The report on the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict by the commission led by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell is a failed effort–not for what it includes but for what it does not include.