Emphasis Added: The Foreign Policy Week in Pieces (6/13)
From nuclear weapons to unicorns.
From the Spanish Civil War to Syria: Parceling Out Truth Subverts Justice
George Orwell understood that ignoring obvious horrors for expediency’s sake is a roadblock to justice.
When Will the Dirty Wars End?
Jeremy Scahill’s ‘Dirty Wars’ conveys the sinister, unaccountable, and deadly power concentrated in the halls of Washington that now threatens the planet.
For Bradley Manning, Solitary Confinement a Cruel, But All Too Usual, Punishment
Although he could face life in prison for a crime of conscience, Manning must feel at least some relief that his pre-trial confinement has come to an end.
Slovenia and Bulgaria: a Tale of Two Reforms
Slovenia has achieved the most economic success among East-Central European states transitioning from communism, Bulgaria the least.
Payback for Colonial Sins
The British government’s offer to pay reparations to colonial-era torture victims in Kenya dispels the notion that British colonialism was any better than the rest.
Syria: the Charade of Humanitarian Intervention
Tales of ostensibly noble efforts to avert catastrophic human suffering have sanitized the complicity of U.S. policy.
Emphasis Added: The Foreign Policy Week in Pieces (6/10)
War with Iran could cost you your job.
Vultures Over Burma
A poem: To all the men and women who sing change change change Mee-ahn mar–we never heard of you before.
Nuclear Missile Wing’s “Sagging Morale” Has an Upside
Its personnel may be depressed, but at least they’re not launching nuclear weapons.
Erdogan’s Iron Fist
The broad-based protests against Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan reflect deep-seated resentments over the Islamist leader’s increasingly authoritarian governing style.
Sierra Leone: From Swords into Ploughshares
Sierra Leone may be slowly transcending its ethnic-based politics, but poverty remains an omnipresent threat to its development and democracy.
Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Divorce
As is the case with most divorces, the “children” — Czechs and Slovaks — were not consulted.
Erdogan Goes All Robert Moses on Istanbul
Turks are feeling steamrollered by Prime Minister Erdogan’s development projects.
Five Ways the Arms Trade Treaty Advances Arms Control
For the first time in history, the $70-billion global arms trade will be regulated by international law.